Beaten and Broken
by ClaraBragge-Ravenclaw
Summary: No one could have prepared Hermione for her unexpected visitor. No one could have warned her that her life was going to take an unexpected turn. But as her mother always said, everything happens for a reason. Rated M for a reason.
1. Tansy

Just something that popped into my head. I don't own any of the characters or places, but the storyline is all me. It is un-beta-ed and I am posting it before I chicken out. If you want more, please leave me a comment, like, love.

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Honestly, it had been just one of those days. One of the days where you just can't seem to get anything done, or anything right. And that was just the kind of day that Hermione was having.

Surrounded by paperwork, texts, and files of her various patients, Hermione felt the onslaught of a migraine right between her eyebrows. Tapping her muggle pen on the hard, brilliant mahogany of her desk, she found herself trying to decipher the blurry words of her latest medical patient mystery. Sean Finnegan, Seamus's cousin, had a lengthy history of making body parts disappear. Similar to Seamus' uncanny ability to make just about anything burst into flames, Sean was skilled at vanishing them off in an effort to develop new joke jinxes.

While the first few times were comical, it was getting down right irritating to be reversing his faux pas twice a week. No, she was not his research partner and no, she was not going to tell him the counter spell to bringing back missing appendices. She had one high stress job already, thank you very much. Not to mention her practically non-existent, sad excuse for a personal life.

Amazing, that after all she and the Weasleys had been through, she tells the youngest son she didn't see a future with him, and all of a sudden you are on your ass, literally, and you've been banned from your second family. Frankly, that was the best start of a week she had EVER had, Hermione thought sarcastically. Apparently the only people who couldn't care less were Bill, Fleur, Charlie and Arthur. Seeing as the first three lived in France and Romania, respectively, and the last lived in the very house she had been kicked out of, it was as if she had lost every one of the Weasleys. Not to mention, seeing as Harry was still dating Ginny, she was on her own most nights and weekends. So this is where she found herself, 5 o'clock at night, on a Friday, sitting at her desk at St. Mungo's, 2 hours after her shift had ended.

Groaning, she let her head fall to the desk with a tell-tale thunk.

"Miss?" A voice rang out softly, but clearly, in the dead silence of her office.

Hermione gave a shout of surprise, rocketing herself back up into a sitting position.

"Missy Her-me-any?" The voice squeaked again.

Hermione looked over the stacks of parchment that covered her desk, to see an elf nervously staring at her, while rolling her hands together.

"Oh, hello." She stated, "Ah… yes, I am Hermione. What's your name?" Her heart beating quite madly after the small shock.

The elf watched her, not responding to Hermione's question, "You is friend to house elves? Yes?" The elf stuttered out. Clearly it was nervous.

"Yes, of course." Hermione replied, "What can I do for you? Is your master treating you with respect? Or have you been freed…"

"OH NO Missy Her-me-any… No, no!" the elf started, "Tansy loves Master! Master is the only master Tansy has left Miss. But… b-b-ut Tansy don't feel Master's magic always. Tansy is afraid something bad has happened to Master, Miss. Master said he come back Miss. But Master hasn't!" The elf was wailing at the end of her statement. "Tansy needs Master! TANSY IS A BAD ELF! POOR MASTER!"

Hermione's eyes widened as she observed the elf. "Tansy, please don't cry. Who is your Master?"

The elf's large glassy eyes, full to the brim with tears, were looking at her with immeasurable despair, "Tansy's Master is Master Draco, Miss. Miss will find Master Draco?"

"Malfoy? Draco Malfoy?" Hermione questioned back and the elf nodded vigorously. "How long has he been missing Tansy?"

"Master didn't come back from Master's trial, Miss."

"Tansy, that was about a year and a half ago!" Hermione was shocked.

The elf went on to explain that she checked all four of the Malfoy properties and she could feel his magic best in England.

"Yes Miss. Tansy thought Master needed a trip, Miss. Master's magic was still there. Tansy missed Master. Tansy was going to bring Master home. But Tansy tried to go to Master yesterday. Tansy tried and tried but she couldn't!" Once again, the elf burst into tears.

Hermione looked at the distressed elf and pulled her into a hug.

"It will be ok Tansy. Come with me, we will figure it out." She let go of Tansy and started to head to her door. A short trip to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement placed Hermione and Tansy at the open doorway to a man, hunched over his desk, furiously scribbling on the parchment in front of him, mumbling, what sounded like, angry expletives.

"Harry," Hermione started, "May we come in?"

The raven-haired man looked sharply at the door before his face soften. "Hey Hermione. Yeah, come in."

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	2. The Dilemma

I greatly appreciate the response I have received so far! Thank you to each and every one of you who followed or favorited. I am doing this by myself, so if you find an error, even if you feel it is small, please feel free to reach out by PM or comment to correct me.

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"Do you have a moment?" Hermione asked hesitantly. She was watching Harry, while taking in his surroundings.

His office was a modern, cheery space with light blue walls, adorned with his various awards. His large desk was in the direct line of sight from the doorway. Two navy wing-backed accent chairs sat in front of the desk. Across the office, just beyond the desk, was a large window that overlooked a brick wall, and subsequent wards, that separated the magical and muggle communities. In the full daylight, there was a clear view of the bustling street below, full of people, oblivious to the magical world so close to them. To the left of the window were two large, lightly stained, wooden bookshelves, stuffed to the brim with books, papers, and knickknacks that he had been gifted. The wall across from the desk was stocked with a full coffee service for the office's occupant. The remaining floor space was taken up with a matching four person table.

While Hermione's office table was always clear, Harry's was covered with several haphazardly stacked piles of files. Past the "organized chaos" that was a permanent filing system in his office, there was evidence that Harry was not in his normal mood. From the shredded and crumpled paper surrounding the wooden waste bin, the quill broken into two, further decimated in a pile of its own wisps, to the ink spots she could see starting to dry on his modern glass top desk.

"Sure." Harry said, heaving a heavy sigh. "Anything is better than what I am dealing with now." He gestured to one of the chairs in front of the desk.

When the elf toddled up behind Hermione and took the seat to her left, Harry noticed her presence.

"Uh.. Hermione?" Harry's question was accompanied by a quizzical look.

"Harry, meet Tansy. Tansy is Malfoy's elf."

"Malfoy? What's he done?"

"That is why I'm here. It's not what has he done, more so where is he. Tansy hasn't been able to reach him."

"Ah, bollocks. I'm not going to like this, am I?" Harry asked looking peeved already. Hermione had no idea what was going on with Harry, but she wasn't going to make it worse by drawing it out.

"I don't know, but I don't think so." She stated evenly. She then turned to the quite elf, whose eyes still weren't quite their normal color, still puffy from her cry. "Tansy, why don't you tell Harry what you told me. You can trust him."

"Mr. Harry Potter, Sir. Master Draco hasn't come home, Sir. Tansy hasn't seen Master since before Master's trial, Sir. Tansy thought Master needed a break. After the trial and Master lost his mother. But Master hasn't called for Tansy!" The elf started to shudder with emotion.

Harry looked at Hermione and she nodded in response. "It's ok, Tansy," she encouraged gently, "Keep telling Harry, please."

"Mr. Potter, Sir, Tansy has checked the properties and talked to Tansy's brothers and sisters and no Master. Tansy can feel Master Draco, only in England. Master is still alive, but his magic is weak. I feel him here, but I can't go to him. Tansy has always been able to go to Master. TANSY MISSES MASTER!" Upon the end of her little diatribe, Tansy burst into a full-fledged fit.

Harry was silent. His face getting redder, refusing to breathe. A sudden harsh breath was released with a growl, punctuated by a hand slapping the glass desk. Harry stood abruptly, sending his chair into the floo hearth. He strode to his door before screaming, "Mathers! Smith! My office, NOW!" His tone booked no argument. Harry rarely lost his cool since the war. Even after being assigned to Department of Magical Law Enforcement as a Special Task Force Leader, a brand new division, he often approached difficult problems with silence and thought. It was truly rare for him to shout anymore. The two second shift auroral made short work of their summons and arrived promptly in Harry's doorway.

"Sir?" The taller of the two asked. He was the stereotypical image of a law enforcement officer. Lean but muscular with tan skin and cropped brown hair. The other was slightly shorter, a dark skinned man built like a rugby player.

"Mathers, Smith, I need you to go to Weasley's cube and bring me all of the remaining probation files. Malfoy's first, if you find it." He ground out, dismissing the aurors. Taking their cue, the two turned around and headed left down the passageway outside Harry's doorway.

Harry threw himself back into his chair, elbows clanging down on the glass, head falling forward and his hands catching it.

"Harry?" Hermione asked tentatively. Harry only held his hand up in response, nonverbally communicating to her to give him a minute. By this time, Tansy's woeful cries had toned down to the intermittent sniffle.

Harry let out a big sigh and ran both his hands through his messy black hair. Picking up his wand from the top of his ledger pad, he waved his wand and sent all the stacks of files from not only his desk, but from the table as well, into a small muggle looking document container.

Looking back down at the woman in front of him, one of his best friends growing up, he locked eyes with her. "I had to release Ron this morning."

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I have the next installment started. I will upload it as soon as I am done! Please leave a comment!

Always, Clara


	3. Misdeeds

Here is another installment. If you have looked at the other stories I have written, you will see only 2 one shots. This is my first try at a longer fic. Please leave comments or follows if you like this. If you have issues with what is written, grammatically or content, please address it with me. I would like to improve, but little responses don't allow me to correct what I can. I want to create stories that are captivating and engaging. I know there will be a growth of my skills and I thank you for taking the time to read what I have written.

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"What!?" Hermione was shocked. Though she did not talk to the redhead any longer, it was a big deal for Harry to FIRE him. It was an absolute end of their friendship knowing Ron's temper.

"What did he do?" She asked curiously, her eyebrows high on her forehead, eyes wide with disbelief.

Harry took another deep breath and in a monotone voice said, "It has come to the department's attention that he has not been fulfilling his duties to the DMLE and Task Force 12, as well as falsifying documentation. He wasn't alone though. Finch-Fletchley was also found doing the same thing."

"Are you certain? That is some serious accusations! Ron? I mean, he hasn't been doing well. He couldn't have taken it well!" She responded.

"It was Ron of the 'You Killed My Rat Incident of 1993.' So really well…" Harry tone and sneer was eerily Snape-like. Hermione pursed her lips knowingly. Which of them could forget that utter debacle. Even some of their classmates still jokingly brought it up from time to time.

"He, of course denied it, then managed to put his foot in his mouth when he let slip, and I quote, 'What's it matter, eh? They're going to end up in Azkaban eventually. Who cares if I get them there faster?'" Harry looked at Hermione a little more sternly. "It reflects poorly on this department and the mission of this division if that kind of behavior was acceptable. Golden Trio or not, it won't be tolerated by anyone in upper Ministry. My hands were tied, and rightfully so."

Hermione let her mouth drop open dumbfounded. She knew that Ron often graced the covers of rags, milking his fame of being part of the Golden Trio. But even by Ron's standards, it seemed too far. But again, she didn't really know him of late. The man had become the angry, slightly broken version of his school self. It was the reason their relationship was cut short. Hermione wanted peace and quiet with her school crush, and Ron wanted to flaunt their relationship in public. She wanted a nice dinner out, yet he'd make time throughout the meal to take photos and sign pictures for fans. When she wanted to visit her parents, he'd complain that it was too rural for his liking…. In Sydney. Australia. (What?) And when she tried to smooth out their differences or have him compromise with her, he'd get so angry. Over time, Hermione felt as if the boy she had desperately fell in love with no longer existed.

She had broken off the relationship with witnesses around to help her out if she needed it. And she had. Ron quickly escalated into yelling and trying to throw things within his reach. The most surprising part of the whole argument, was Molly's support. She had pulled Hermione aside after Ron left to tell her that she felt her son was recovering and was trying to mend himself however he could. "Maybe in the future, dear." was how Molly ended the conversation, taking herself back into the Burrow's kitchen.

Hermione felt lighter after she'd done it. Like the proverbial weight had been lifted. It wasn't until Christmas time, when Ron tried to get her back, that she told him that she didn't see him as her future and that he needed to get help. His actions still didn't line up with hers. At least to compromise with her. It was then that Molly claimed she went too far, saying Hermione couldn't see the effort he was putting in and, not so kindly, asked her to leave and not return. Magically pushing her out the door off the kitchen.

But for Ron to blatantly falsify Ministry documents, she couldn't imagine him thinking that was right. Looking back at Harry, she could see the anguish in his face.

"You are positive?" She asked again. Trying and failing to wrap her head around this.

"Yes. I know what you are thinking, but yes. We were supposed to be the dream, you know?" There was a somber quality to his voice, and his eyes held a painful look. "Uhh… you know Miles Bletchley, yeah? He was a bit of a brut but quiet. A couple of years ahead of us?" Harry addressed her as he got up and walked around his desk to the file container he had sent his papers to earlier.

"Yes, he's in the poison ward at St Mungo's, medically induced coma, unknown potion. I was asked to review his case. Why?" She watched as Harry bent down and pulled out the top file. Extracting only one page, a pink parchment, he handed it over to Hermione.

"Look at this parole monthly check in form." Harry nodded to the parchment in her hands. He leaned against the table that was behind him, getting into a relatively relaxed position for the tension in the room.

She took it and started to read the handwriting she had come to know by heart. Scanning the form, she found the section she was meant to read.

"Parolee Bletchley reported to his monthly meeting drunk and unable to answer basic questions. Recommending Parolee Bletchley is re-evaluated by the Wizengamot for parole violations and disorderly conduct."

Hermione looked up sharply. "WHAT is this nonsense!? And it's dated last Friday!"

"Exactly. Ron's superior brought it to me. We processed a Non-compliance Exception notice for him shortly after we found out he was at St. Mungo's. I have no idea what Ron is on about. He should have seen the notice, as he was Bletchley's parole auror. Bletchley has been in St Mungo's for 2 months. Unresponsive. He isn't about to get up, come here, and then check himself back in. We have 2 other cases, as of this afternoon, that are along the same lines."

Hermione was analyzing the dark haired wizard in front of her. She couldn't comprehend what she was hearing. Part of her still didn't want to believe what had come from her former best friend and love.

"How did he get away with this?" She wondered out loud, looking between the pink sheet and the green eyed man to her right. "Wait! You are thinking Malfoy is a similar case?" It wasn't so much of a question but an accusation.

"Yes." Harry stated simply as Auror Smith arrived back at door, knocking on the frame, and letting himself into the office. Turning his attention from Hermione, Harry looked to the man just inside the door.

"Sir, Draco Lucius Malfoy, Parolee D800605L." The deep timbered voice said, while handing over a thick green file folder. Several pink sheets were intermittently mixed in with the other parchments contained within. All of which were haphazardly shoved into the folder, a garish contrast between the parchments and the folder itself.

As Auror Smith took his leave, Harry flipped open the file as he tossed it to the table. Towering over the file, his left fist supporting him, he started to roughly turn the pages over, pulling all of the pink parchments out, passing them to Hermione as he went.

The first thing she noticed was that they were out of order. There was no rhyme or reason the order in which Harry was pulling them out, even though he was going page but page. Secondly, they were crunched. Crease marks along the edges, or even straight down one side. Corners dogeared, and in a few instances the pages were slightly torn. Horrified at the state of them, she tried to flatten what she could, using wandless spells to fix the tears and creases that were distracting from the contents of the documents themselves. Official documents were similar to books for her. She didn't feel as if this was a difficult concept. These weren't some school assignments, these were important documents. He may have filled them out, but they were not his to destroy. To her, this showed a true disregard and lack of care for his job if he threw official documents in a file with no care at how they were organized.

Sorting them to be in a discernible order, Hermione placed the parchments in an overlapping line from oldest on the left to newest on the right. Counting them up and checking the dates allowed Hermione to verify they were all there. One for each month since Malfoy's May trial. 17 in total.

"Well," she spoke without looking at Harry, or the quite elf that sat next to her, "There are 17. Just as there should be. This could be good or bad." As she finished, she looked up to Harry's face. She could see the grim apprehension on marring his features. Not because this was Draco Malfoy they were talking about. No, these sheets that were spread upon Harry's desk, could further prove their counterpart's spiral downward.

oOoOo

Continuing forward, the story is going to have graphic and dark elements. I will be sure to include warnings in the author's note at the top.

Please review, follow, or favorite!

Thanks,

Clara


	4. Records

I have made some small changes to the first few chapters. There were some inconsistencies that I wanted to rectify.

Additionally, I wanted to get another chapter out quickly since the last few have been slow moving. I don't plan on all moving as slow as they have been, but I wanted to have it play out slower than jumping from one major scene to another. The transition was entirely too abrupt. Enjoy this installment. As always, please read and review!

Thanks to nachosandjazz, Ditte3, and guest for your reviews!

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"May 1998" Hermione started picking up the earliest sheet. "Parolee Malfoy was explained the rules and guidelines of his parole. Parolee signed forms 2100, series B, and 7450, acknowledging his limitations of magic and the monthly check in schedule. Parolee Malfoy consents to trial verdict of random drug and alcohol screening as well as wand spell history verifications."

Looking to Harry, "Seems pretty standard." He nodded.

"All initial check ins should have been the same verbiage. The meetings were overseen by the DLME. Let's see if there is something in here or a write up that stands out." Harry suggested looking from Hermione to the spread of parchments in front of him. He picked up the next one, while Hermione picked the third parchment, the one from July.

"Tansy," she turned to the elf that had remained quiet once she had calm down. "Where are the other three properties? You said there were four? Was that including the Manor?"

"Yes, Miss. Four Malfoy properties includes the Manor, Miss." The elf's big ocean blue eyes turned up to make eye contact. "The Manor, Miss. The Rose Villa in Italy. Snowcrest Chateau in France, and Poligauche Island near Crete."

"And you are the only elf for all 4 properties!?" Hermione's voice started to rise as she continued. "That's inhuman! That's abuse! How can they…"

"Miss Himminny! Tansy is the last family elf. Not the last Malfoy elf!" Tansy interrupted her. Her hands on her hips, giving her best Malfoy glare. "Family elves belong to the Master. Malfoy elves are belonging to the house, Miss!"

Hermione quickly flushed from her neck to her hairline at the elf's chastising. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Harry covered his mouth to keep from laughing. His hand, however, did not fully cover the large goofy grin on his face.

"My apologies, Tansy. That was rude of me to assume." Hermione said genuinely.

"It's ok, Miss Himinony, Master Draco said you weren't being bright with house elves. You didn't get the bond." At this Harry couldn't hold back anymore. He barked out a laugh, startling both Hermione and Tansy. The former just glared at him, while the latter had a smug smile on her face. "Miss Himinomy can't know everything, Miss…"

At this Harry released full belly laughs, unable to breathe, leaning on the table for support. Hermione was horrified. Bloody Malfoy, the bloody pompous arse. Her face flushed darker but she had a look of indignation on her face.

"Well," she paused, trying to recover from the elf's dressing down. "This one says that he changed his reporting address to Italy. I'm guessing that is the Rose Villa?"

Tansy turned from smug to outright irritation at this. Hermione, thinking that she did something to upset the elf again, opened her mouth to backtrack when Tansy let out a wolf- like growl. And with a crack, the elf was gone.

"Bollocks. Did I do that?" Hermione couldn't help but look at Harry for clarification. Harry, in all his eloquence, just shrugged, wiping the laughing tears from his eyes. "Very helpful, Harry Potter. Very helpful." And with that, another crack rang out in the small office.

However, instead of just Tansy standing there, the small elf had a larger male elf hunched over as she held his ear tightly in her fingers.

"Rocco! Master Draco was in Italy!?" The elf yelled in a voice larger than herself. "You told Tansy you weren't knowing. Master Draco in Italy!"

Rocco tried to stand up tall in the presence of the witch and wizard, but Tansy just twisted harder, stopping the elf from doing anything of the sort.

"ROCCO!" Tansy, clearly irritated, was not taking this elf's silence lightly.

"Tansy didn't ask if Master Draco was staying at the villa, only if he was at the villa. He was not. So Rocco told Tansy no." The gravel-esce voice of the older elf held a note of superiority. Tansy growled again.

"Excuse me," Hermione interrupted the two elves. "Is Master Draco still STAYING at the villa, Rocco?"

When Rocco didn't reply, Tansy gave a hard downward yank to his ear, causing him to bend over further.

"No, dirty magic stealer." Rocco spat at Hermione.

Hermione snorted, and Harry stepped in, knowing this was when Hermione was going to exercise her wit against the house elf.

"Rocco, Draco Malfoy is missing. We are trying to find him. Do you know where he is?" Harry's tone booked no arguement s.

"No, Mr Harry Potter, Sir. Master Draco left Italy at the beginning of fall with that Nott boy. Rocco does not know where he went, Sir."

"Very well, Rocco, thanks." Harry concluded, going back through the papers to find the ones from late summer, early fall. Again, without warning, the two house elves disappeared.

The noise caused Harry to jump and clench his fists, recrushing the pink parchments of which he held. Breathing through his nose to slow his racing heart, he unclenched his fists and tried to smooth out the sheets. With one sheet in each hand, pausing to read what was written, his face became pensive. Hermione couldn't help but study the man who was such an integral part of her life. His brow was pulled inward in a look of concentration, his vibrant green eyes darted from word to word, and he mouthed each sentence of interest. Picking up a third sheet, he followed much of the same mannerisms. He must have read something that caught his attention because his head shot up in concentration, staring unseeingly at the wall. He then attempted to put two of the papers back on the table, but because of his distraction, they teetered on the edge before falling to the floor. Harry was already striding out his office door, the lone parchment still in his hand, waiving like a poor substitution for a surrender flag.

Hermione moved to pick up the papers on the floor, when she heard Harry ask for the ministry's visitor records just outside his door.

Coming back into the office, Harry looked to Hermione. "Last week of November, 1998 the reports started to change, implying a change in Malfoy's behavior. December, 1998, Ron had Malfoy escorted for drug testing by Seamus. It's odd because Seamus quit three days later. January, 1999, the report is almost nonsensical."

Just then a knock at the door stopped Harry's verbal train of thought. A young female Auror stood there with large binders floating behind her.

"Mr. Potter, the visitor logs from Central Check In and the front desk." She stated, sending over the binders. Hermione being the closest, reached out and took them.

"Thanks Auror Shaffield." Harry replied to the woman, while relieving Hermione of some of her weight. Placing the thick white binders on his desk, he flicked his wand with a search spell Hermione was unfamiliar with, and several log sheets inside glowed neon blue. There was something very obvious about those sporadic blue lights, they only happened in a few of the binders.

"Ah, shite." Harry said to no on in particular. Turning to Hermione. "Each binder is a Quarter, 3 months. The smallest binder being this quarter." His voice trailed off.

"And there are no check ins for Draco Malfoy in at least two quarters." She finished for him.

"Correct." A heavy sigh permitted the quiet office. The sounds from the outer offices, a dull background noise as the silence stretched.

oOoOo

I am delighted to see the response I have received from this story. Thank you to everyone! Please continue to read and review. Follow or favorite to get notifications of updates.

Always,

Clara


	5. Facts

Hello again! Enjoy Chapter 5!

oOoOo

Hermione moved to stand next to Harry. As he stared at the floo behind his desk, deep in thought, she reached for the binder with the fewest glowing parchments. Flipping it open, she looked at a few dates, understanding how the binders were organized. When she identified that the end of the quarter was on top, she flipped to the first blue glow.

'February 16, 4:54 PM, Draco Malfoy, wand scan, Exit 16C'

And the next, 'February 16, 9:03 AM, Draco Malfoy, wand scan, Entrance 8E'

"It's saying here that he spent the whole day at the ministry on this one." Hermione commented out loud, flipping back and forth between the two pages. Letting them go, she continued to the next set of lights.

'January 19, 3:48 PM, Draco Malfoy, wand scan, Exit 16B'

'January 18, 9:03 AM, Draco Malfoy, wand scan, Entrance 8A'

"Harry, this one said he stayed over night. Why would he have to stay over night? And isn't Entrance 8, Ministry employees only?"

"It is. Something is definitely off. The rest of these check ins are rubbish." He started sliding papers this way and that, changing the relatively even array to a disorganized, frantic pile. Walking around the table, he flipped open Malfoy's main file again, Harry moved to aggressively flip through the remaining parchments. Stopping and folding the file back on itself so that there was a single sheet visible.

"Well he was here in December. Drug screening came back clean." Harry looked minutely relieved.

Dragging a clean piece of parchment to herself, she grabbed a spare ball point pen from Harry's desk and started writing as she spoke. "Let's review. He checked in in May, moved to Italy in June/July. Left Italy in September/ October timeframe. Rocco said he was with Nott. He was definitely here in December for the drug test. And records say that he was here in January and February, through the wand scan process. There are no records of him coming in between March and September. I think we should reach out to Nott and…"

Suddenly, the floo behind Harry's desk roared to life, bringing Ginny Weasley's face into focus. "Harry!" She exclaimed, "Oh, hello Hermione." Her voice went from energetic to cool and indifferent when she spotted her brother's ex-girlfriend. Hermione did an internal eye roll. Ginny had a lot of growing up to do if she was still holding a grudge over her failed relationship with Ron, almost 10 months after it happened.

Harry cut Hermione's thoughts off when he replied to the red haired witch.

"Hey Gin. What's up? Everything alright?" Harry knew not to let the hippogriff in the room get out of control.

"Well love, it's past 8. This is late, even for you. Just making sure you were ok." Ginny's focus completely on Harry.

"Oh! I lost track of time. Hermione and I were looking into a case that came up. I will tell you about it when I get home." He offered. "Give us 15 to wrap up, and I will be on my way."

"Of course, love!" Hermione thought Ginny was trying to be seductive, but failing. Making her, in Hermione's opinion, sound like an overeager fangirl. "I'll be waiting for you." Ginny cut the call with an over exaggerated wink.

At that, Hermione did snort. One thing Ginny was always lacking was self-esteem when it came to Harry and other women. Regardless if said woman was his best friend and more of a sister than anything.

"I know." Harry responded, shaking his head. "I know."

"Does she know you let Ron go?" Hermione asked with look saying she already knew the answer.

"Uh.. No, I didn't tell her. And it seems as if no one else did either. I am not looking forward to that conversation."

"I wouldn't be either." Hermione said sympathetically.

"Thanks for the support Hermione. Really. You are the best friend I could ever ask for." Harry's statement oozed sarcasm.

"Oh Harry, you are stuck with me. You should know this by now." Hermione replied with a smile on her face. She missed moments like this. Where they could just be friends, not worrying about anything else.

"And I don't regret any of it. Let us pack it up. I will send a letter to Nott to see if he can come in the morning, even if it is the weekend. Maybe he can give us some more information. I will send an owl if we get something ironed out."

"Thanks Harry, I appreciate the help here. I know this wasn't what you were expecting, and there is no love lost between you and Malfoy. You are a kind man, Harry Potter." She stood on her tiptoes to give him a chaste kiss on the cheek. Harry knew Hermione was being completely genuine.

"Honestly, no, I did not want to find more evidence against Ron, but it being Malfoy won't stop me from doing my job. And doing it right. It is my savior complex, as you well know."

Hermione laughed out loud and smiled at her best friend. "Alright Harry, I will talk to you later." She waved and let herself out of the office and out of the ministry.

oOoOo

It was Saturday evening when she received a missive from Harry.

'Monday morning at 9:00 AM, Nott will meet us in my office. - Harry'

Well, now all she had to do was make it to Monday morning. Grabbing a piece of clean parchment, she penned a letter to her boss, telling the Head Healer of Experimental Medicine that she will be late Monday due to an external meeting.

oOoOo

Monday morning came at a snail's pace. Hermione couldn't pin point the reason why this whole situation seemed to occupy her mind.

She was never a fan of Malfoy. No one expected her to be. After everything that happened in school, she cared about making the magical world fair for all, and that included Malfoy. She spoke on his behalf at his trial, but that had been the right thing to do. She saw him fighting for the light after they rescued him and Goyle from the Room of Requirement. He probably would never claim that he switched sides, he was a Slytherin after all. But there was no denying that he took out some Death Eaters of his own.

It's wasn't fully about Tansy either. She, of course, wanted to help the elf. She wanted to help everyone. It was the reason she went into Experimental Medicine. To help the people who other Healers often had written off.

Maybe that was it? Written off by the rest of Magical Britain, he didn't have much but full vaults and a smattering of acquaintances. No, that sounded crazy. It had to be something else. Honestly, even she didn't understand how her mind worked sometimes.

It was finally a reasonable time to head into Harry's section of the Ministry. She knew that she was going to be about 30 minutes early, but she also knew that she could bring breakfast and she would be forgiven for arriving before Harry expected her.

And that is what she did, heading directly to her and Harry's favorite bagel shop not far from her house.

After purchasing their regular orders, she made her way to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She said her perfunctory greetings to the individuals that addressed her. After what felt like forever, she arrived at Harry's door, knocking on the jam. She raised the coffee and paper bag in a greeting only Harry would understand.

"I honestly thought you would have been here at 8. I was anticipating walking into my office this morning to you already elbows deep in the files." He told her with a still sleepy grin.

"I tried to restrain myself. It was really quite difficult." She smiled back. "I brought your favorite, strong coffee with a dash of hazelnut creamer and a cinnamon crunch bagel, toasted with plain shmear." She placed the items down in front of him, and he replied with a soft thanks, as she sat at the far chair across his desk and dug into her own breakfast.

Just as she was finishing up her own bagel and coffee, there was a knock on the open door. Theo Nott stood there, filling up a good portion of the doorway, with a mask of indifference on his face. Hermione could only guess that he was unsure of why he was summoned to Harry Potter's private office.

oOoOo

Thank you for joining me once again. Our story is starting to progress! Please leave a comment or message if you feel there is something that needs to be addressed! And as always, please review, follow and favorite!

Always,

Clara


	6. BOLO

Hello all! Did you like Chapter 5? If you did, review, follow, and favorite! As always, please let me know if you find a mistake. I get so excited to post another chapter, I'm not as thorough in my proofreading as I would like!

Big shout out to SLYNNR for your review. I even enjoyed the CAPS, made it feel more passionate! But to respond to your message, I will never tell. Just kidding, I need to tell don't I? Eventually. Thanks again!

Any who, on to Chapter 6!

oOoOo

Harry stood up and extended his hand to the apprehensive man. "Please come in and take a seat. I can tell you that you were not requested because of an infraction. Rather, we would like to ask if you could answer some questions regarding Draco Malfoy."

Nott's mask dropped for a brief moment and Hermione could tell he was slightly relieved at the news, but quickly raised it back up at the mention of Malfoy.

"I don't know if I will be of any help, but I am willing to answer what I can." A Slytherin answer, if there ever was one. Nott turned away from Harry to look at her. "Granger."

"Hermione, please." She responded, a small smile on her face. Theo Nott was quiet and scholarly, coming in near her in the top 5 of their class. He had never done anything to her regarding her blood status, at least not that she was aware of and definitely not to her face, so she had no reason not to be polite to him.

"Then please call me Theo."

"Theo," she paused and turned to Harry. "Do you mind if I start?"

"No, go ahead." The black haired man responded.

"Theo," she started again, turning back to the tall, lanky man to her right. "To give you a little bit of back story, I was visited by an elf last Friday. Malfoy's elf, Tansy. She asked for help in finding Malfoy. She had tried going to him, and had checked each of their properties, with no luck. It was after Harry was looped in, and we started looking into his whereabouts, that another Malfoy elf, Rocco, told us that he left his Italian villa, with you. Do you by any chance know where he may be? I can safely say, we are not trying to persecute him either."

Theo had dropped his mask at her information, and his brows rose high on his pale forehead. Surprise written over his classically handsome face.

"He did leave with me. But I haven't heard from him in several months."

It was Harry's turn to speak, "Could you give us specific dates? Anything of use while we try to create a timeline?"

"Sure." Theo said hesitantly, his face then morphed in a curious look. "But why? This seems a little extreme for helping out an elf."

"We cannot tell you everything, you understand, but it has come to the Department's attention, that there have been issues that have come to light in regards to the individuals that are currently on parole. This includes missing persons, grievously injured, and obliviated. Not only are we trying to help Tansy, but also to look out for the welfare of Magical Britain. This includes Draco Malfoy, regardless of our past." Harry tried to get his point across without divulging all of the incidents and individuals.

Theo Nott looked skeptical as he shifted his gaze from Harry to Hermione and back.

"Theo, we wouldn't have spoken for him at his trial if we didn't believe that it was the right thing to do. We didn't fib any of it. I can say that for both of us. We are not being malicious here." Hermione said gently when she could tell he wasn't completely sold.

Theo then cleared his throat, looking decidedly uncomfortable about speaking about his friend. "I was staying with him, in Italy, August through the beginning of October. I have stipulations with the Nott family business that I cannot reside outside of our ancestral home for longer than 3 months. I knew he was having a hard time and I convinced him to come live with me. It was better than the manor. The Dark Lord never resided in my house." Theo supplied.

"What about when he left? You said that you hadn't heard from him in several months." Harry asked as he scribbled out what Theo had just told them onto their timeline sheet.

"It was about a week before Christmas. Draco and I had gotten into an argument about something trivial. He was being a prat and I tried talking him out of the proverbial Avada. He didn't like what I had to say and left. I sent missives, but they came back unopened. After 3 months of that, I stopped. I figured he will come to me when he straightened himself out."

Hermione and Harry shared a look that Theo didn't miss.

"You think he is in trouble." It was a statement and a question.

Hermione turned to address her former classmate. "We aren't sure what is happening, but what you just told us falls in line with what we already had. Unfortunately, it confirms that he is in fact, a missing person." Turning her attention back to Harry, she asked, "Can we put out a BOLO? Maybe an article in the Prophet?"

"Excuse me, if I may," Theo interrupted, "If you are interested in getting it printed, Tracey Davis works as a reporter for the Prophet. You can trust her to write something unbiased about Draco." His voice strong, but his body language telling Harry and Hermione that he thought his idea would be rejected.

"I think that is a great idea." Harry answered. "We need some unbiased reporting for this office. Do you think she would be willing to write something, even if it is not coming from the DMLE?"

Theo brightened, "Yeah, I think she would be fine with that. If you have a piece of parchment and an owl, I can contact her now."

"Great!" Harry replied, handing over the parchment and calling his personal Ministry owl, Hercules, to the window. Theo made short work of the note and handed it over to Harry to be sent.

"Well," Harry started, turning back from releasing the owl out the window, "I don't have anything else for you, and Hermione, I know you need to get back to work."

"Yes, definitely. Theo, can I walk out with you?" She acknowledged Harry and turned to address the significantly more relaxed man next to her.

"Sure."

"Wonderful! See you Harry! Let me know if you need any help with the article." Getting up, she waved to Harry, stepping past the tall Slytherin, who had stood with her.

"I will let you know. Thanks again Nott." Harry responded.

"Theo, Potter. Just Theo."

"Alright Theo, thanks again." He said as the two individuals left his office. Gathering his notes, he waited for the reply from Tracey Davis.

oOoOo

The next morning, Hermione got up as usual, barely functioning, as she made her way into the kitchen. After she shuffled over to her coffee maker, she gathered what she needed to give herself the boost she needed in the mornings. She was partial to tea, honestly, but she needed to drink several more cups to get going. Coffee just worked faster. It was when she started pouring the black liquid in her favorite mug - it said 'Be a unicorn in a field of horses!', a gift from Harry - that she heard the tapping from the Prophet's owl. Reaching up over the sink, she unlatched the window to let the little tawny owl in. Unburdening the owl of its delivery, the owl hooted and took its leave through the still open window.

With the paper in one hand and her coffee in the other, she rounded her granite kitchen island to the rectangular wooden stools that faced the large windows over her sink. Placing her mug down gently, as to not make a mess, she climbed onto her favorite of the three. Opening the paper to see the whole first page, her eyes zeroed in on the small, in comparison, article that took up the whole lower right edge. Placed perfectly that anyone looking to turn the page would see it. "High five, Harry!" She thought internally, a small smile gracing her features.

'MALFOY HEIR MISSING!' The headline yelled. And just below the bolded, capitalized title, 'Tracey Davis, Junior Reporter' followed by a black and white, moving photo of the blonde. The short photo showed him changing the direction of his gaze from the right of camera to the photographer and smiling, actually smiling, before starting over.

'Have you seen Draco Malfoy?

The Head and Heir to the Noble families, Malfoy and Black, has been reported missing according to Ministry memo. Department of Magical Law Enforcement needs your help in locating young Mr. Malfoy. He was last seen in Diagonal Alley. Mr. Malfoy has properties in Wiltshire, Nice, France, Catania, Italy, as well as Crete, and may be residing near any of these properties.

Draco Malfoy is just over 2 meters tall and weighs in at 14 stone. When last seen, his platinum blonde hair was cropped short on the sides and longer on top. Other identifiable features include fair skin and steel blue eyes. He has a scar along his hairline on the back of his neck, as well as one that extends from his left collarbone to his sternum.

Anyone with information regarding Draco Malfoy's whereabouts should contact Department of Magical Law Enforcement as soon as possible with the details they have.

A five thousand galleon reward has been offered for information that results in uncovering Mr Malfoy's location.'

"Wonderful!" Hermione spoke out loud, happy that Harry and Tracey were able to get on the front page, and the article was to the point. Her familiar, Sphinx, a black kneazle, was the only one around to respond with a low 'Meow' as she sauntered into the bright kitchen.

"I hear you." She said getting up from her stool to feed the Maine Coon sized cat. Now, all there was to do was go about her day and hope someone knew something.

oOoOo

I thank you again for reading this! I enjoy seeing the number of people that have visited this story. Please review and let me know what you think. Guest or otherwise, I love hearing from you. It feeds my muse :-). Next chapter is going to be graphic. Warning you now and I will warn you when I post it. Please review, follow, and favorite!

Always,

Clara


	7. Torture

Please be aware that there is passage below that could be considered gruesome to some readers. Please read at your own risk, this is your second warning.

Thank you again to SLYNNR for your review. No judgement here BTW - stick it to your teacher. You are your own person. :-)

oOoOo

Harry was sitting at his dining room table in the basement kitchen, illuminated by the artificial windows Hermione had charmed after the war. He was staring at the marks and dents in the lightly stained hardwood top. The Daily Prophet spread out in his peripheral. Every once in a while, it would hit him again that he owned this house. A house full of stories that only until recently, he wasn't a part of. It wasn't the easiest to swallow knowing how he got it. Throughout school, his biggest priority was staying alive. He never really thought about what he would be doing when it was all over. He knew he wanted to be an Auror, without a doubt in his mind. But everything else? He scoffed to himself. Very little thought at all as to where he would end up. He had been lucky that Sirius' will was clear cut, Harry got everything except the Lord Black title. Granted, he would give it all back if that meant bringing Sirius back, Remus for that matter as well, but where he was going to be living was one less mountain to climb. He would like to think that even if Sirius was alive, he would still live at 12 Grimmauld. But Sirius wasn't, and Harry had no time to become maudlin, not with everything going on.

Bringing his attention from the individually unique blemishes back to the paper in front of him, he read the article for the third time. He knew it by heart of course. And frankly the information wasn't all that significant. But it was a reminder of what was going on. It gave him time to mull over the events that have occurred over the last week. Throughout the investigation surrounding Ron and Justin Finch-Fletchley, he still had a hard time accepting that this is what became of his first friend. He knew Ron wasn't the best of students, but he had a passion for becoming an Auror. He had a drive to do greater things than his siblings. Part of Harry felt that Ron had gotten wrapped up in the "Golden Trio" rubbish. He was finally a "hero" and enjoyed the fame and notoriety that came with it.

Unfortunately, the investigation of his former classmates and colleagues was not the only investigations that the DMLE and his task force had on their plates. It seemed that the issue with Ron caused other cases that were considered minor or a one off, to be looked at more closely. Frankly, other than the normal drunk in publics, disorderly behavior, or Azkaban escort calls, every other case that had been opened in the last year and a half was being re-evaluated.

Harry's team was to primarily focus on any case involving his parolees. His task force was on the small side, employing only 35 people. Ten specially trained Aurors on each of the 3 shifts with five full time support positions. Their primary mission was to oversee and monitor all parolees that were released after their trial, or their Azkaban sentencing. With the majority of the parolees being recent Hogwarts alumni, that were not branded, but had evidence of support to Tom Riddle's schemes or they were branded and was able to provide solid evidence that they were coerced and blackmailed into joining and completing assigned tasks. Malfoy was one of those in the last group. It helped that both he and Hermione spoke on his behalf during the trial. As reluctant as Harry was to admit it, he was pretty close to Malfoy when he threw an Avada, Sectumsempra, and a Bombarda at three Death Eaters engaged with Neville and Luna. The last one was right in the throat. Harry was both disgusted and amused at the outcome.

In addition to his parolees, they had been asked to assist in looking into any case that was a known acquaintance of a Death Eater, whether that be friend, coworker, or family member. The unsettling part of this group of cases was that most of the affected individuals had no remaining family. No one to notice their absences, new odd behaviors, or strange injuries. Harry couldn't help but rub his face in exasperation.

It didn't help him any that the silence in Grimmauld Place was deafening. Add in the creepy crevasses, unexplained noises, and dark memories this place held, and Harry wondered if it was time to stop punishing himself for all of his regrets and strip this place bare. He was tempted to gut it and start over. It's not like he didn't have the money. Especially the money that came along with this house. Normally, Harry would revel in the silence and calming therapy of manually cleaning, but even for him, with a busy schedule, the 8 bedroom home was daunting. It also didn't help that almost everything in this decaying mass of building materials, was decades old. Thinking again to the nicks and marks marring the wood from years of use, the only reason why they were visible being that the magic covering it disappeared with Kreacher's death. Truly, Harry was fine with that. Kreacher's death, that is. The elf was exhausting, even when he was being helpful. Having to clean the rooms with the manual labor ingrained in him, allowed for him to be distracted, or in some cases, allowed him to think something through. Ginny didn't like that he didn't replace the elf, even knowing Hermione's stance on their enslavement. He knew that she had gotten used to the elf doing the mundane chores she had to do at the elbow of Molly Weasley, but he hadn't seen a good enough reason to bring another one into the house.

Speaking of Ginny, she didn't take the news of Ron's unemployment kindly, especially since it was her boyfriend that was there for the actual firing. In fact, Molly had sent a howler to him saying he couldn't return to the Burrow until he apologized to each and every one of them for firing Ron. Seeing as that wasn't going to happen, it was the final nail in the coffin with Ginny. He also understood that he probably should have told her sooner, and that in her shoes, she shouldn't have found out it had even happened because of Molly's chastising missive. She had tried to say that he was betraying her for Hermione, that there was something going on between them. For fame; that he was trying to get Ron's spotlight back on himself. She tried to guilt him in every way. She even stooped so low as to accuse him of acting out of spite that Ron had a family and he didn't. After that punch to the gut, it wasn't hard to hold fast to his morals and refused to try to get Ron his job back. So, she packed her stuff. Now he had this huge, old, decrepit house with memories of her souring the good ones, and no one to share the silence with.

'Enough moping,' He thought to himself. "Might as well go to work early."

Harry closed the paper back into its original form, setting it back down on the massive, aged table, before making his way upstairs to start his day. His hope being that there will be some clues brought forward to help solve any of his cases.

oOoOo

"Wakey! Wakey Arsehole!"

This shout barely passing through his conscious. Slowly coming to, he became more aware of himself and his surroundings. He was still tied up, arms above his head, shoulder joints having long given up supporting his diminishing weight. He had no idea how long he had been passed out this time. Tentatively moving his head from its bowed down position, the kink in his neck suggested quite a while. Careful not to irritate his raw wrists, he rolled his neck in the narrow space between his suspended arms, the pain only barely registered. Over the course of what he could only imagine being months, he had learned that the pain could always be worse. Regardless of how they wished to dole it out, tied up like the muggle savior Christ, or helpless on the floor. He seemed to be in a perpetual state of pain.

He did recognize that he was wet. The ice cold water making trails down his exposed torso. He knew how he was woken up. It was how he was woken up each time his captors wished to have fun at his expense. He also knew what was coming next. As if asking for it, he felt the telltale splash only milliseconds before the burning started. This was worse than normal. Normally too weak to thrash, the remaining strength he had appeared as his muscles clenched, jerking his body. The ropes that were keeping him taut in place rubbed the tender, almost non-existent skin around his wrists. His jaw opened wide and he was screaming but no sound came out. It never came out anymore.

Even the voice in his thoughts seemed foreign. He knew that it wasn't the canvas bag over his head that was muffling any sound he tried to force out. No, whoever brought him to his prison placed an odd silencing charm on him. He knew it was different as soon as the caster finished the incantation. Instead of simply muting him, he felt the magic entwine with his mouth and gave the feeling of washing down his throat and surrounding his vocal cords. It had burned like a phoenix on burning day - quick, intense, and all encompassing. He knew that what ever had been done had done damage. Breathing hurt, even when he was lucky enough to get water, his throat was in excruciating pain.

As he felt himself gasp for air, he bore down on his teeth as hard as possible. The pain in his throat was nothing compared to the burning on his skin. This was oil. The slick tracks left a footprint of fire. It wasn't like the boiling water used so many times before. No, this seemed to stay close where it had splashed. Scalding his already abused skin. He could feel blisters forming all over his neck and torso. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't hot enough to instantly numb. So it didn't take very long for his world to become black once more.

It didn't last for long. Soon enough, he was being doused in freezing cold ice water. The difference in temperature from the still hot oil to the freezing water, was equally as painful, taking his breathe away.

"Oh no you don't, wanker." A fist smashed into the bridge of his nose. He heard the audible crack. It had happened so many times before, he was sure he had very little feeling left in his nose. What hurt was his eyes. Fisting his broken hands, he tried desperately to transfer the pain in his eyes to his extremities. The pain that lingered in his twisted and missing fingers was nothing in comparison. Regardless of how many times his captors punched him in the face, his eyes hurt like hell every - damn - time. He could taste the metallic tones of his blood pooling in his mouth.

"Guess what, you Death Eater scum?" Draco had become accustomed to rants from this particular voice. Of the three that "visited" him, this one was the most chatty, the voice was low, gravelly and full of disdain. Draco knew that the voices were distorted. He had tried to recognize them and couldn't. And this tormentor, man, could he pack a punch. "Guess who they finally realized is missing? You, you worthless piece of shit. It only took 8 months."

'8 months?' He repeated in his head.

A sadistic laugh and the "thuwack" of a spring loaded knife opening, cut the silence. Bracing himself for the onslaught of pain from skin being sliced open, he winced when the first incision was not in the scarring on his back but in a new spot, in the middle of his chest.

"Well if we are going to return you, let's make this time count, ya?" He stated mockingly as he pressed the knife to Draco's alabaster skin once more.

oOoOo

Day 8 ya'll of self-imposed quarantine. I have been working third shift in order to spend more time with my daughter during the day. I hope you are all holding up ok. I need to keep my creative juices flowing so it you want to suggest a prompt for a one shot, send it over. I really hope everyone is staying safe and doing well!!

Always,

Clara


	8. Resolution

So far, this story has been published for a little over a month and we already have over 4,500 views from over 1,300 visitors! I can't tell you how much I look forward to the responses that I get from writing this story. While I don't get reviews from every person that reads (I try not to take this personally, as I myself don't leave reviews for every story I read.) the numbers are there. I enjoy seeing everyone who reviews, follows, and/or favorites - you are my people. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. It is what motivates me to continue to write, as well as explore other ideas that pop into my head. I currently have another Dramione that has struck me after having a bizarre dream. While it was crazy because of the people in the actual dream, it was an enticing plot. Soon enough I will have enough of a story line to start posting.

Shout out to my reviewers for Chapter 7 -

LillsBills - Your review truly brightened my day. I hope I continue to keep you hooked.

Green Eyed Lana Lee - I am so sorry to hear what you are going through! I am glad that I can help in some way. This is definitely crazy. It seems easy to fall into the hype but I am trying to keep a level head.

oOoOo

It was shortly after Hermione finished her second cup of coffee that another owl swooped in, landing on her lightly colored granite island. The jet-black owl a stark contrast to its new background, its piercing yellow eyes trained on her.

Hesitantly, she reached to remove the rolled parchment from its ties. Without breaking eye contact with the bird, she fumbled until she felt the rim of the blue bowl sitting on her countertop. Snatching up one of the owl treats that resided in the bowl, she offered it up to the imposing bird. The owl took the treat happily, not moving from her spot, giving Hermione the chance to remove the letter. When the bird still didn't move, its intentions were clear.

"Alright then. Guess you are waiting on a reply." Hermione spoke to the owl while scanning the parchment for any foul play. When nothing was found, she unrolled the parchment to find handwriting she was unfamiliar with.

Hermione,

I read the article. Tracey and Potter did Draco justice. If you would be willing, could you keep me abreast with any leads you may receive? I would be deeply appreciative. Please don't mind Melisandre, she isn't the brightest owl. If she hasn't left, tell her to return home.

Sincerely,

Theo Nott

'Interesting. Wasn't expecting that.' She couldn't help thinking to herself. Looking back at her feathered guest, she chuckled to see the bird had settled in on her countertop. 'Clearly, he was right about her.' She had never met an owl that wasn't exceptionally smart or cognizant. Reaching behind her, she grabbed the quill and a piece of spare parchment from the basket on the built-in desk.

Good Morning Theo, she penned.

I would be more than happy to inform you of any information that I receive. I am a Healer in the Experimental Medicine Department at St Mungo's, so please don't be alarmed if you see one of their delivery owls. I can imagine that wouldn't be a welcomed sight, unless you were expecting it.

And you were spot on with Melisandre. She is currently molting on my kitchen island. If you don't mind me being blunt, what is wrong with the poor bird?

Hermione

"Melisandre?" If a bird could look annoyed for being interrupted, this one did. "Can you please take this back to Theo? I'd appreciate it." She felt like she was dealing with a child, she could have sworn the temperamental bird just rolled its eyes! But Melisandre stuck out her claw with the letter ties nonetheless and gave a hoot.

"How about two treats then?" Hermione couldn't believe that she was trying to bargain with the bird. Melisandre let out a far kinder call before taking her treats and leaving through the still open window.

"Sphinx, that had to be the strangest owl I have ever met." Hermione spoke as she stared at the place the owl had disappeared. Turning her attention from the garden and trees that the kitchen window faced, she tried to find the cat she had spoken too. Finding her familiar sprawled in a patch of sun to her left, she got off her stool to crouch down and scratch the exposed belly. "Be a good girl, Sphinx. Time to see if Sean Finnegan decided to grace me with his presence once again."

Heading to her floo, she threw in the powder, stating her destination, and was on her way to work.

Somedays were more monotonous than others. Unless something truly extraordinary came up, her focus stayed on 6 patients of approximately 25 that were currently residents of the ward, or Sean Finnegan. No one else had the patience to deal with his antics, so she was his unofficial healer. All in all, her case load was pretty consistent.

She had originally trained as an Emergency Healer, until she met the boy who would become her first Experimental Medicine patient, Jonas Millwag. Jonas was 9 years old when he came through the doors of St. Mungo's with his parents. He had been jinxed by his brother, a second-year home for the winter holidays. It was just supposed to be a voice softening charm.

What had complicated things was that Jonas' accidental magic lashed out and interrupted the spell as his brother cast it. This caused Jonas to have a permanently soft voice that got softer the angrier he got. When the Charm Reversal Department couldn't figure it out, Hermione decided to take matters into her own hands to try and solve it. It had taken many sleepless nights and failed attempts, but Jonas went to Hogwarts this past September, completely cured of his infliction.

Her dedication during the thirteen months it took to find and create a reversal, caught the attention of the Department of Experimental Medicine Chief Healer and the ward's executives. She was happy to accept the offered position, not to mention the regular schedule and pay increase that came with it.

Dropping by her office first, she grabbed the case files and treatment plans for her patients before making her rounds. She enjoyed seeing her patients every day, seeing if her ideas for treatments made any impact. She reveled in the difficult task of researching many different reactions to create a solution for each individual case. Her friends had chuckled when she told them about the job, they knew she would enjoy herself, especially all of the rare tomes available to her through the St. Mungo's' Research Library.

After finishing her rounds and speaking to the nursing staff, she returned to her office to see a black blob of feathers on her chair. Approaching the blob with caution, she used her top-most file to reach out and nudge the mass, keeping an extended distance between her and her office chair. Melisandre, clearly not enthused about being poked, jumped back up to a standing position, put out at being woken up. Without preemption, she stuck out her leg to pass over the letter. Hermione took the letter and watched to see what the owl would do next. Melisandre didn't disappoint, the owl moved from her leather office chair to her small blue fabric loveseat, only to fall forward once more, not moving. She couldn't help but snort in amusement at the owl's behavior. Theo had truly found a unique owl.

Reclaiming her chair, she opened the letter.

Hermione,

I apologize for her behavior. Believe it or not, she's always been a bit odd. She used to cause a stir at the Slytherin table when she would arrive, just to eat directly off my plate. No letter to deliver. Her antics made the tougher days more comical.

Thank you for informing me of the owls. Congratulations for working in Experimental Medicine. I can imagine that is a competitive position, and what I do know of you, seems like an ideal profession for you. I myself work at Gringotts, as a Curse Breaker. Good things can come from questionable knowledge, especially learned at the elbow of the people doing the cursing. So, if you ever need a dark arts curse specialist, you know who to ask.

-Theo

Hermione had to laugh at the letter. From what she had witnessed this far, she could see Melisandre making herself comfortable, eating with the humans. Pulling what she needed from her draw, she penned him back a letter.

Theo,

Weren't you in Slytherin? Because that was positively Hufflepuff for offering. Though I greatly appreciate the information and offer, and plan to take you up on that. I actually have a case currently that I could use some insight on. If you'd be willing, could we get together this week to discuss? The basis is involuntary self-harm, stronger than a compulsory charm.

Talking about antics, I have never known an owl that sleeps face down. Which is what she is doing currently. Hence the St. Mungo's owl who delivered this missive. I imagine that Melisandre will depart when she is done with her nap.

If you don't mind me asking, do you know how I can get in touch with Tansy? I haven't heard from her in a couple days and want to make sure to keep her informed as well. I hope your day is going well.

Hermione

Calling over one of the department's owls, she sent off her reply. This was turning out to be an interesting day.

oOoOo

Draco could feel the blood collecting at the entrances to the new cuts. S-C-U-M. He traced the letters in his mind as they were etched into his skin. The knife hitting and skipping over his prominent ribs. He was surprised that he could even bleed. It had been several days without water. Whether through his occasional measly rations or his wake-up call choking him as it got into his open mouth.

He knew that his magic was all that was keeping him alive. While the magic suppressing bracelet on his ankle prevented him from lashing out, it allowed his magic to flow throughout his body. He could feel it. Weak as it was. Trying to heal him however it could.

Suddenly, the ropes that were supporting him released him, dropping him to the floor. His knees smashing into the concrete, his body pitching over to land mostly on his left side. Seeing as he had been dangling from what he could only imagine was the ceiling, his legs stretched out behind him, the top of his bare feet resting on the concrete surface, there was no chance of him catching himself, even if he had the strength.

The chill from the floor was seeping into his exposed flesh. Draco realized with trepidation that there were two sets of footsteps approaching him. Being disoriented to begin with didn't help matters when a voice whispered in his right ear. "Don't plan on leaving here alive." And a fist slammed down on the side of his head.

Manic laughter filled the room as a foot connected with his back, flaying him out on his stomach. Another came down on his ankle, shattering it. The pain was intense, not allowing him to focus on anything by the sharp, shooting pain radiating from his lower leg.

Swift kicks came in quick succession. Over and over. Focused on his torso and arms. He knew, just knew, that the comment made to him was truth. It was in that moment that he started to lose hope. Lose his will to survive. They weren't going to be humane; they were going to make this as arduous as possible.

He knew from previous treatment like this to keep his hands tucked in as much as possible. He knew that many of his fingers were broken and a few missing the tip and nail. He was sure his middle finger on his right hand had atrophied. One of the first bones broken in his confinement, he no longer had feeling in that finger. His pointer and ring fingers could still feel it, identifying that it was at least still there.

Someone lit what he knew to be a cigarette. He knew what was coming next, as the lit cigarette was pressed into his exposed arms. Repetitively.

Draco was resigned to the brutality that was committed against him. When he first found himself in this position, he regaled it to his time as a Death Eater. That this was the payback for the shitty person he was, and the horrible things he thought he had to do. But after so long, it was clear that this wasn't a family member avenging the wronged person. This was sadism.

It was starting to eat away at his resolve. He had no one. His father was in Azkaban and his mother, gone. He pissed Theo off, his one remaining friend. What was the point of fighting this if no one cared you came out the other side? If he was going to die, it might as well be on his terms. Closing his eyes in the darkness, he tried to relax among the hits and burns his body was still taking. Accepting his fate. It was then that the welcomed darkness descended, aided by a well-aimed kick to the back of the head.

oOoOo

Don't throw tomatoes (Eek!) Please review and let me know what you think. As always, please review, follow and favorite.

Always,

Clara


	9. Discovery

Welcome back! Here is Chapter 9. This one is a little on the shorter side, but if I didn't break it where I did, it would be exceptionally long in comparison to the others.

Shout out to my reviewers for Chapter 8: LillsBills, SLYNNR, Ditte3, and buddybuddy96. You guys are the best!

oOoOo

Taking a seat on her couch, Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. What a terrible day. Actually, it was a good day until after lunch. Then everything kind of went downhill.

Letting her head fall back on the pillows, she felt like breaking open her emergency bottle of wine and downing it all in one go.

One of her patients, one that she had struck a friendship with, had a terrible tonic-clonic seizure. If you had asked her yesterday if Melody Andrews could be prone to seizures, she would have said no. The mother of 3 was in her ward because she was having erratic, and prolonged bouts of total paralysis. This episode was the diametric opposite of every episode documented in the last several months. And the worst part of the entire event was that Hermione gave her an anti-seizure potion, only for the seizure to become even more severe.

It had taken some creative thinking to find a roundabout solution. But she and her team had done it. By using mild potions, a calming draught and an outpatient procedure sedative, they were able to reduce her thrashing to minor twitches in her fingers, until the episode had passed completely.

With St. Mungo's upgrade to TRMRS, Total Room Magical Recording System, she was able to get print outs from the patient and the monitoring equipment in the room for review. The system recorded all magical movements and events, as well as syncing with the equipment for a complete and comprehensive log of what occurs, around the clock. She was then able to identify triggers or symptoms to isolate the cause of what happened. A very useful system, however very time consuming to review since there had been two Healers, one resident, and close to 5 nurses in the room at any given time, as well as the patient and the monitoring equipment.

It also didn't help her day any, having to contact Melody's family. Her husband, Burton, has not been the most supportive, or understanding, of spouses she has dealt with. Adding in that he is essentially a single dad to three boys, under the age of 8, she could only imagine the stress the man was under. Still, the floo call had been emotionally draining.

The one bright spot of her afternoon was centered around her last missive from Theo.

_Melisandre, having left a couple hours earlier from her nap, looked less than enthused to be on another mail run. After landing directly on Hermione's work, she scratched at the letter with her free leg, to remove it from the ties, before taking back off through the window once she was successful. Hermione didn't even have a chance to aid the bird. All that remained was the slightly shredded parchment and the feeling of dealing with one of the haughtiest beings she had ever met. Picking up the slightly decimated letter, she couldn't help smiling at the fact that he was still responding. _

_Hermione, _

_I bet you lunch, you just need to call her. She's probably in the room with you. _

_Slytherin Theo_

_P.S. - The hat only needed minor convincing to keep me out of Ravenclaw._

_Hermione couldn't help but laugh out loud at this last message, startling her co-worker Max as he walked past the door to her office. _

_"Sorry Max!" She waved at him while trying to keep the laughter down. He was looking at her curiously, as he hadn't heard her laugh in a long time. "I'm fine, I promise."_

_He seemed to take that as the truth and bid her goodbye._

_Giving Theo's suggestion some thought, she figured it wouldn't hurt to try. "Tansy?" She asked, quietly, feeling a little foolish._

_Without delay, there was a pop directly to her right that had her practically flying out of her chair. The little elf was looking at her expectantly. "Merlin's saggy pants, Tansy." Her hand flying to her chest. Her heart was beating erratically. She was going to pick somewhere expensive for that fright. _

_The elf snickered, "Miss called Tansy? What can Tansy be doing for Miss Hermininy?" _

_"Well, I wanted to let you know what was happening. Have you been around this whole time?" _

_"Thank you, Miss, but yes, Tansy has stayed close by." The elf replied unapologetically. _

_"To me or my office, Tansy?" Hermione asked, unsure if she should be upset about the possible intrusion in her life._

_"You, Miss. Tansy closed the kitchen window this morning Miss. It is going to rain today." Again, this was said completely unapologetically._

_Yup. Upset. She was mildly upset. "Boundaries, Tansy. Boundaries. I would have preferred that you told me. But thank you for closing the window." She rubbed her eyes with her right hand. _

_The elf looked at her quizzically. "Tansy doesn't go into the bathroom when Miss is using it, Miss."_

_Hermione snorted. "Well, there is that." She responded. _

It was at this point that she was alerted to Melody's episode.

Which brings her back to her emergency bottle. Honestly, her day was crazy and unexpectedly taxing. Now she just needed to get off the couch. Her comfy, comfy couch.

However, as she was talking herself into getting up, a crack of apparition rang outside her door followed by a thud of someone dropping a large box, hitting the door as it connected with the porch. As quickly as it came, a subsequent crack rang out again. Thank Merlin she lived in Muggle London with a peephole. Resigning that she actually did have to get off the couch, she got herself up, stretching like a cat as she walked to the door. Placing her eye to the glass she didn't see anything. Her hair fell down as she pulled her wand out of her makeshift bun. Cautiously, she opened the door and at the sight in front of her, let out a blood curdling scream.

"Shite. Shite! SHITE!" Throwing up notice-me-not wards with expert ease, she dropped to her knees.

The body in front of her was all bones and skin, but the silver-white hair stood out in stark contrast to her dark stained porch. There was no mistaking it was him. In front her was the battered body of Draco Malfoy.

But it wasn't that he was there, no, it what had been done to him.

His body was a palette of scars, cuts, bruises, and burns. Hermione could only think that the story behind each of them was one she didn't want to know. Crouched down near his face, his right eye has swollen shut and his lip was split, but the most damage here was to his nose. No longer straight and defined, it had a wave to it that suggested it has been the target of many fists. Hermione tentatively stretched out two fingers to feel for a pulse. Praying to Merlin that he wasn't dead; she searched his throat. When she couldn't feel one, she started to panic.

"No, no, no… you can't be dead!" As carefully as she could, she slid her left hand under his neck, her right on the upside, placing her fingers on both sides of his jugular, looking for the arteries. It was then that she felt a very faint throb beneath her left forefinger.

"Oh! Thank Merlin! Thank God! Hold on Draco!"

Hermione threw a additional concealment charm over him and ran to the floo.

"Harry! HARRY! HARRY POTTER! COME HERE NOW!" She was screaming like a banshee, but none of that mattered.

"TANSY!" She screeched the name.

The elf popped in only to zero in on the door frame and the wizard beyond.

"Master Draco!" She started to wail.

"Tansy!" Hermione grabbed the elf by the upper arms and got her to focus. " I need you to go to Ginny Weasley. She is one of the Holyhead Harpies Healers. Tell her it's an emergency and to bring all of her potions!" The elf took another look at her wizard before popping out of the room.

Whipping around to her couch, she quickly transfigured it into a double bed. It finished transforming as the floo roared and a frantic wizard stumbled out.

"Hermione! …" The wizard was cut off by the apparition of the elf and the only Weasley girl.

"Harry, oh thank Merlin!" The red head was relieved she wasn't being called here for him. Tansy, not even paying attention to the conversation around her, was staring at Malfoy, as if she was hesitant to approach him.

Frantic, Hermione redirected their attention to her. "Malfoy's here! Someone just dropped him on my porch! He is barely alive!" She said all of this as she ran back to the porch, the panic evident in her breathing and voice. Waving her wand, she removed the concealment charm to reveal the broken heap of a wizard. The audible gasps didn't slow Hermione down.

"Petrificus totalus! Wingardium leviosa!" She shouted, freezing and lifting him. Ginny had already retreated into the living room to empty her bag and grab the potions she knew she needed. Harry had taken to capturing wand images to record the porch and the injuries to his childhood enemy. They had never been friends, but no one deserved what Malfoy had clearly been through.

oOoOo

I appreciate each of you reading this story. It is my first long length story. Please leave a review and let me know what you think and where you would like to see this go! I have a pretty broad outline but am open to suggestions!

Review,

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Follow!

Always, Clara


	10. Damages

We have another chapter everyone! Number 10!

Shout out to my reviewers of Chapter 9!

Buddybuddy96 - Your last 2 reviews have made me so happy! Thank you! BTW that owl is just the best. I would want an owl like that!

LillsBills - You made me snort! LOL. I hope this is worth the wait.

Ditte3 – Thank you for your review! The answers will all come out eventually!

SLYNNR - Hmmmm… (puts on thinking cap, scratches chin)

oOoOo

"Place him on the bed and release the spells." Ginny had gone into healer mode.

After the war, she chose to become a healer with Hermione. Molly Weasley had been vehemently against her only daughter being a professional quidditch player. It wasn't a lifelong career she had said, so Ginny had agreed to do something that she had done her whole life at the outcome of the twins' pranks. But where Hermione stayed at St Mungo's and the Emergency Department, Ginny had followed her love of quidditch to the Holyhead Harpies Medical Team. Being a healer suited the witch well, and her still working with quidditch pissed off Mrs. Weasley. At the same time the separation was the downfall to their friendship. Since Hermione was often in the Emergency Room when the Aurors would come in, she was usually the requested Healer. Usually these Aurors were escorted by their superiors, including Harry. It caused a rift when the girl felt that Harry was spending too much time with Hermione instead of her, regardless that half of the time was within the walls of St. Mungos. Add in that her relationship with Ron was a couple sandwiches short of a picnic, Hermione stopped trying to change the girl's way of thinking. However, even with their relationship being tentative at best, there was no one else she trusted, that had direct access to the healing potions she knew were needed.

As Hermione was getting the wizard settled on the makeshift bed, making sure to keep him steady to limit the possibility of exasperating the injuries further, she couldn't help but look him over. She would be the first to admit she didn't know what to expect from him missing. Part of her thought that he was just relaxing somewhere, behind some unplottable wards, avoiding the ministry. Maybe he thought he was too good for parole. It would fit into the personality she known so well. But never, in her wildest dreams, would she have thought he would have been the object of a brutal assault. Her heart broke looking at him.

Laying on his left side, almost entirely face down, she started with his head first. What once was one of his most identifiable traits, had taken a brunt of injuries. Matted with dirt and blood, his hair was no longer brilliantly blonde. Chunks of hair were missing and patches of his scalp were raw and scabbed. There was some undeniable swelling along the back of his head.

His shoulders and back had a lattice work of scars. Highlighting the branding that was carved into his back, in large letters, about 4 inches high. Death Eater. The scarring was thick and irritated. It looked as if it had been carved into his skin several times. A thought that was confirmed by the mass of small lines that made up each letter. His alabaster skin was peppered with an assortment of bruises, some old, some brand new. Some were small, while others were definitely made by a larger object. Angry red burns could be seen along his legs, under what was left of his torn, frayed slacks. His ankles swollen so large, there had to be broken bones. His feet, faring no better, were bare and bloodied, the skin scratched off.

The rope burns around his wrists had been rubbed so raw, she was positive she was looking at muscle. His right pointer and pinky fingers were twisted at odd angles. The left hand hadn't faired any better. The top bones of both his ring and pinky finger were missing, taking his fingernails as well. His middle finger had definitely atrophied. The broken bone between the palm and knuckle, clearly overlapping itself, rendering the entire finger useless.

Taped to his left arm was a piece of parchment that read "A present for you", in a scratchy, untidy handwriting. The parchment was only partially covering what looked to be a smattering of fresh and healed over cigarette burns. He was curled in on himself, halfway in the fetal position. Whether on purpose or that's how he dropped unconsciously, she could only imagine the state of his front if his back was any comparison.

It was during her assessment of the heart wrenching sight before her that Ginny began waving her wand in a series of complicated movements and incantations to anyone not familiar with them. It took longer than anticipated, as she had to cast each one several times over his body. When she was done, she broke through Hermione's appraisal to give her prognosis.

"Several broken bones; nose, right cheekbone, fingers, wrists, 9th and 10th rib, right side, fibula, right ankle joint, talus, left ankle joint. Fracturing to the back of the skull and thoracic vertebrae 11 and 12, lumbar vertebrae 1. Major internal bleeding in the abdomen - most organs, severe concussion. As well as the visible injuries, malnutrition, and severe dehydration. I have potions to handle a good portion of these, but we will need more." Ginny looked upon the wizard with resignation. This was definitely not what she saw every day.

"I will make what we need." She told the red head without taking her eyes off of her new houseguest. Harry had moved in closer to remove the note that was taped to Malfoy's arm. Somewhere in the deep recess of Hermione's mind, she knew that the fact that the perpetrator used cello tape was worth noting.

"Tansy." Hermione called to the elf. Tansy did not answer. It was then that Hermione looked over to the elf to see undeniable grief on the poor creature's face. She was silently crying in earnest and twisting her ears in a way that could only be considered painful.

"Tansy." She said again, gently, but with more conviction. The elf finally looked at Hermione. "Tansy, in my second bedroom, there is a potions lab. First, I need you to bring the burn cream and scar reducing potions to us. Secondly, can you please prepare two stations, one to brew a nutrient potion and one for stomach soother? I promise, we will take good care of him. Please, Tansy, can you do that for me?" Tansy nodded hesitantly before popping away.

"Since there are no broken bones that could cause paralysis, we can straighten him out after giving him a sedative potion. I only have a mild. Hermione, what do you think about stunning him as well? This will not be pleasant." Ginny asked less calmly than she looked. She acknowledged Hermione's nodding before grabbing the first of several vials. She coaxed his jaw open just slightly more than it already was. Pouring the contents of the vial into his mouth, she started stroking the throat just below the jaw to get him to swallow. Quickly, she stood up and she and Harry took a minor step back.

Hermione reached out her hands, placing one on his shoulder and the other on his right temple, she stupefied Malfoy as gently as possible, without so much as a twitch from him.

Carefully as possible, they physically rotated the battered wizard on to his back and as Hermione has presumed, his front fared no better. Among the vast injuries, the evidence of a brutal beating stood out in his lower abdomen.

"Looks like Dudley's Smelting's stick." Harry whispered. His face full of sympathy and his eyes, haunted.

On top of the long, large shaped bruises, he had angry burns. Some were, again, cigarette burns and others looked to be the work of hot oil. Connecting the evidence between his torso and legs suggested the oil was thrown on his chest and ran down his legs. Looking further up, another word stood out. SCUM. Nipple to nipple, this cut was relatively fresh. The dried blood trails lead downward. His inner arms had more cigarette burns and what appeared to be pinch bruises.

While Harry kept documenting the injuries on Malfoy, Hermione had taken the burn paste and scar cream from Tansy when she had apparated back to the living room, setting the latter in her lap and opening the former. Ginny had collected what Hermione recognized to be blood replenishing potion, an internal healing potion and a pain relief potion from her response satchel. Careful not to irritate his already abused skin, Hermione lathered on the paste over every fresh-looking burn as softly as possible. This gave her the chance to slow down and really take in how beaten the man in front of her was. She had seen cases come through St. Mungo's but nothing like this. Never someone she knew. This was almost personal. The tingling in her chest and nose indicated the tears forming in her eyes. She may not like the boy he used to be, but she saw the changes in him, mostly during the final battle. Malfoy had apologized to her at his trial and he seemed genuine. The man at the trial had shown remorse for his youth and had told her that blood status hadn't crossed his mind since that horrific day in the manor.

After everything the war stood for, everything they had fought for, she couldn't help but feel saddened at the fact that prejudice was still wholly present in their culture. After being acquitted by the Wizengamot, someone still felt the need to do this to him, someone who had repented and apologized. She understood that to some, that may not have been enough, but he went above and beyond paying his hefty fine to War Repartitions and donated a seldomly used property to house a Children of the War Orphanage. It is not easy to forget what was said and done, but what needed to happen was to evolve from the past and for growth of acceptance and equality. With her mind going crazy on the severity of these heinous crimes, and the motive behind them, she hardly heard Harry speak to her.

"Hermione, do you know who could have done this? Do you recognize the handwriting? Who has the ability to get past your wards?"

oOoOo

Happy Birthday to our FAVORITE fandom twins, Fred and George Weasley!

Whoohoo! We are starting to get into it. Each and every one of you lovely readers make me happy. My reviewers though, they motivate me to write more and post faster!

Please drop a review and let me know what you think!

Always,

Clara

P.S. Day 17 of working from home! I am still sane.


	11. Evidence

Thank you everyone for the views of last chapter! In 24 hours, there were just under 900 views for the entire story!

To my lovely reviewers, I will be moving my responses to the bottom A/N.

oOoOo

Hermione cleared her mind enough to think about what Harry was asking.

"My wards only prevent someone with ill intent from finding my house. But honestly, not many people know that I live here. Though I am sure that it is on record somewhere in the Ministry." She looked at him apologetically.

Reaching out, she asked, "May I look at it?"

"Sure, there is already a containment and anti-tampering charms on it." Harry replied, passing over the parchment that not only had the words written upon it, but evidence of Malfoy's mistreatment. She briefly turned the paper over when her forefinger grazed an imperfection through the plastic containment spell. What she saw was the mirrored pattern of the fresh and slightly healed burns on the back.

"Honestly, no. I don't recognize the handwriting. But if you look at the smudges, the person looks to be left-handed. At least, they wrote it with their left hand." She suggested, handing it back to him. In her peripheral vision, she could see Ginny finishing up stabilizing both ankles for Skele-gro. She had already cleaned the open wounds on the unconscious man's chest, now came the process of preparing each break for healing. Meaning they were going to have to re-break all of the bones that had started to heal incorrectly.

Turning away from Harry, she sat down on Malfoy's left side, preparing to straighten his middle finger. Grabbing the middle knuckle, she pulled it back into place, thanking every deity that he didn't feel it. Saying the spell to splint the finger magically, she moved from the broken finger to the two next to it. Where the topmost knuckle would have been, the fingers had been severed. While the scarring was gnarly, both fingers looked to be free of infection. It was one less ailment they had to worry about.

Performing a localized x-ray spell, Hermione was able to identify which bones in his wrist had been damaged and set to air splinting those as well. The air splint spell was something of beauty. As soon as it was cast, an invisible balloon engulfed the area, preventing movement. On larger areas, like Malfoy's ankles, it was a sight to see the ankles almost hovering from where the balloon separated the ankle from the surface below.

While she tended to Malfoy's left, Ginny had seen to his right, following the same procedure she did. Unfortunately, Ginny had to re-break the bones in the healed fingers. A quick swipe in the direction of the break and a whispered "Confractus" allowed for the formally healed bones to be broken back into the original shapes, and subsequently set. At the audible cracks heard, Hermione could see Harry flinch while he continued to write down what he was witnessing.

Knowing that the wrist she had just splint, was in relatively good shape, she took to conjuring a hydration pack and arm cuff. Similar to the muggle I.V., the cuff allowed for the same general set up, without puncturing the skin. Initially taking out the adult cuff from the pack, she needed to return it in favor of the young adult size. Malfoy was so skinny from his lack of sustenance, that the adult cuff was too large around his forearm, even with the resizing charm. It made her heart drop at the small fact. Not allowing herself to get caught up, she reminded herself that this was a patient, and triaging the patient was her primary focus. Removing the never-empty intravenous bag, she connected the rest of the set up. Finally, the bag was set to levitate over his head, and she watched the flow to ensure it was dripping at the right speed.

The sound of apparition cut through the silent work of the three aware adults. Tansy had cracked into the room running as fast as she could to the makeshift bed.

"Master Draco! Master Draco! Miss Himinny! Master Draco's heart!" The elf shrieked, clambering up on to the bed next to her wizard. This spurred the two healers into action.

Hermione threw out her wand, saying the incantation to have his heart rate appear above him. 43 and decreasing.

"Harry, lift his legs! Halfway up, knees above the heart!" Hermione shouted to the stunned wizard. Harry responded by dropping all of the things he was holding and bounded over, lifting Malfoy's thin legs up. Ginny had already taken to repositioning his head to relieve the pressure off of the back, while Hermione recast the longer lasting version of the heart rate monitoring charm. The monitor hit 39 before the number started to raise back up.

"Shite." Hermione forced out the curse under her breath. She was breathing more heavily than normal.

"You can say that again." Harry said, taking a deep breath of his own. Ginny nodded in agreement.

A dead Malfoy would be a little harder to explain than she cared for. Grabbing one of her throw pillows, she configured it into a "U" shape. It was blue, and a bit lumpy, but it would do. Scooting around Ginny, she crouched down on Ginny's left and slid the pillow underneath his head, making sure to keep it away from the fracturing at the base of his skull. Ginny lowered his head back down, with his face looking up, while both she and Hermione watched for fluctuations in his heart rate. When it was safe to assume it wouldn't be dropping again, they took another deep breath while Hermione stood and went to Harry. Grabbing another two pillows, she lengthened these and stacked them on top of each other, under where Malfoy's knees would rest. She let Harry slowly lower Draco's legs down while again, she and the others watched the numbers.

There was a collective sigh of relief when the numbers stayed right around 60. Still low, but not dangerously so.

Making eye contact with Ginny, she could tell the younger witch was asking if it was safe to proceed.

Hermione nodded slightly, "Do you want to tend to his ribs, and I will look at his nose?" She asked.

"Sure." Ginny replied, sounding every millimeter of hesitant. Behind Ginny, Harry was picking up his wand, quill, and the parchment he had been taking notes on, off of the floor. Where the wand had fallen straight down, the quill and parchments were scattered.

Hermione sat down next to Tansy. The loyal elf was sitting at his side, with her little boney hand on his heart. Looking at the elf, Hermione kept seeing how absolutely dedicated she was to her master. A bittersweet thought when it came to Dobby and his idiosyncrasies. Regardless of what Draco… wait, Draco? No. Malfoy. Regardless of what Malfoy told Tansy, she did understand that her crusade in 4th year had been slightly under researched and prominently based off of the one elf she spoke to. She could honestly say, she did understand that there was a bond between the elves and their masters. She just wished they were protected. Protected from the few "Masters" that treated them more as vermin than a family member or employee.

Not looking to disturb the elf, she worked around her to get to his face. Remembering what Ginny had said, that in addition to his nose being broken, his right cheek bone also came up as damaged, she x-rayed his face, centering the image between his nose and fractured cheek bone. She cringed looking at the evidence of fractured and broken bones. It looked like a spiderweb. Like the others, she sent a print of this x-ray to Harry, watching his face as he looked uneasy at it. This was going to be a lot harder to heal than the others. She got to work, not only employing 'Confractus' but also 'Os Radi', or the bone shaving spell. Used mostly for enhancement procedures, it worked well on heavy bone masses. It took several repetitions, but his nose was at least straight, if not a bit thicker.

Turning to look for her counterpart, she found Ginny speaking quietly with Harry. Both looked severely uncomfortable. She was so focused on her task; she hadn't realized that Ginny had finished. Breaking into their conversation, she saw a flash of relief cross Harry's face before he schooled it away.

"Ginny, we have addressed all the broken bones, correct?" She asked, ignoring the slightly guilty look on the redhead's face.

"Yes, we have covered all of them."

"Great, can you please administer the Skele-gro?" She asked with a hint of irritation. Ginny would have never made it in Emergency if she stopped what she was doing to talk to the attending Auror, ex-boyfriend or not.

Sensing the agitation, Ginny pursed her lips and grabbed the needed Skele-gro from her bag. Measuring out the required dose, ignoring that Hermione was watching her closely, she poured it in to the comatose man's mouth. Placing the cap back on the skull shaped bottle, harder than necessary, she turned to the others in the room.

"Well, if you can handle the rest, I will just be on my way." The witch dismissed herself. "The Harpies have an early practice and I am the attending Healer." During this, she was packing the items that were left out after use.

Hermione deflated a bit. "I am sorry, Ginny. It has been a long day. Thank you for all of your help, really. I truly appreciate it."

Throwing her satchel over her shoulder, Ginny responded "You are welcome, good night." Grabbing the floo powder from the bowl on Hermione's mantel, she threw it in and disappeared.

Hermione felt bad. Turning to Harry, he was just watching her. "Sorry Harry." She couldn't keep the tears from her voice.

"Hey, it's ok. Really." Hermione quickly found herself wrapped up in a hug, only to find that the tears she managed to keep at bay all evening, came in earnest as Harry comforted her. "Hermione, it will be ok. You actually saved me a bit. I really didn't want to talk about everything."

A snort was his only response. "Really, it would have been a tad awkward considering I was thinking about asking Tracey out."

"What?!" This got Hermione to lift her head off of his chest. Her eyes were red and puffy, and he was pretty sure there was evidence of her crying all over his front. Hermione wasn't a clean crier. It didn't matter though; his comment got the tears to mostly stop. "But you and Ginny, just this past weekend? What?"

"Well Ginny and I haven't been doing well for a while. I didn't want to say anything, you have had enough on your plate." Harry responded sheepishly, shrugging.

"Harry James Potter! I would have still listened! What happened? Really?" She chastised only as much as her red face would allow without looking ridiculous.

"You know that bottle of wine you have hidden in your pan cupboard?" At her bewildered look, he chuckled. "Yes, I know it is there. Who makes the food when I am here? Me. I saw it."

"It's a that kind of story?" She asked him, only for him to nod. "Completely fine, it's been that kind of day." She disentangled herself from him.

"Do you mind if we sit in here? I…. I am not ready to leave him on his own." She asked hesitantly, gesturing to their former classmate.

"No issues Hermione. You get the bottle and I will expand our favorite recliner." He said with a half grin that showed the laugh lines by his eyes.

Grinning back at him, she turned towards her kitchen to retrieve the bottle she thought no one knew about. Not one to drink often, especially on a work night, she took to making the alcohol she did have, not easily accessible. She forgot that Harry often went into her baking cabinet. Chuckling, she grabbed it and 2 glasses. On a second thought, she summoned one of the few basic nutrient potions she had, for when she forgot to eat when involved in work research. Taking her wares into the living room, she handed Harry the bottle and glasses. Already in the enlarged chair, he placed the glasses on the floor and worked at getting the cork out.

Raising the vial to Harry, all she said was "nutrient potion for Malfoy," before turning to the wizard and coaxing it down his throat. Tansy had already tucked him in with blankets that looked suspiciously like her bathroom towels. Seeing that she was gone, Hermione had to wonder if the elf went back to the bedroom-slash-potions lab.

Banishing the now empty vial to her sink, she climbed into the chair next to Harry, leaning her head on his shoulder. Holding up her hand, wordlessly asking for the bottle, she took a large swig of the Rosé, passing it back to Harry.

oOoOo

Please review and let me know what you think! I always love to hear from each of you. If anything, follow or favorite! Chapter 12 will be coming soon.

To my reviewers, can I just say you are the best?! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

LillsBills - I am glad it was worth it, and I hope this one is too! Thank you for your kind words 3

\- WELCOME TO THE PARTY! I hope you like this chapter as well!

Ditte3 - Thank you for your review as always!

SLYNNR - Well let's hope against Bellatrix crazy. You can do this!

Buddybuddy96 - No kidding. The pantry is sooo close. And I have ice cream in the freezer… and all the junk food. You can do this too. But it isn't easy, writing this story gives me a much needed break.


	12. Harry

"Spill." She told him, giggling at the disgusted look on his face.

"Merlin's Balls, Hermione, how do you drink this rubbish?" He made a gagging noise.

"Well you don't have to drink it if you don't want to." She stated contemptuously, taking the bottle back. "I happen to think it is good. Not firewhiskey, or vodka, but good nonetheless."

"Nope," he took another drink when she was done, "Need it today, yeah?" His eyes straying to the man on what used to be Hermione's couch.

She followed his line of sight to sigh, "No kidding. I really thought he was dead, Harry." Taking another drink, a moment of silence encompassed the room before she spoke again. "I don't want him dead."

Throwing his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in tight, he heaved a sigh and said, "Neither do I. Maybe I did when we were younger, but not now. Not anymore."

Another moment of silence, where only the crackling of the fireplace could be heard, filled the room.

Trying to lighten the mood, he chuckled, "So, no glasses, eh? We are just that classy." He teased her.

A single chuckle came from the witch next to him. "You know us, the classiest of people. Stop stalling, spill." She turned to look at him. He grimaced, taking the bottle once again.

"It started before my birthday. There have always been little things that always got me. You know, like Kreacher and getting a new elf. But there were other times I got the impression that it was more about her being with Harry Potter rather than just Harry. Whether it was during a gala or out in Diagon Alley, I don't know. It's not easy to describe. It wasn't blatant, subtle to everyone else, but I picked up on it. I think she loved being on my arm rather than being with me. She would name drop. A lot. You know I try to stay out of the limelight, and she liked being there. And there was you…"

"Me?" She interrupted him.

"Don't be daft. You knew she was jealous of you." He stated with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I knew she didn't like you spending time with me. Was there more than that?"

"Not really, if she knew I was with you, it was like coming home to the Inquisitorial Squad. Asking ridiculous questions like how close we sat and if we touched. It was not so straightforward but Ginny doesn't do subtle well either. Definitely not a Slytherin, that one." They had made a healthy dent in the bottle that they kept passing back and forth.

Hermione snorted. "Kind of like that one." Pointing the neck of the bottle at Malfoy. "King Subtle." Sarcasm was prevalent in her voice. Both she and Harry broke into mild laughter, subdued because of the whole evening.

"And when I told her about Ron, well Molly told her about Ron through a howler for me…."

"Wait! What!?!"

Harry looked sheepishly at her. "Uh, Molly sent me a howler about Ron and said something like I need to apologize to everyone that it was a misunderstanding, and Ginny found out that way." He had a strange guilty look on his face. Hermione looked at him dumbfounded.

"Ouch."

"Yes. Granted, I get it. I should have been the one to tell her, but part of me was glad I didn't have to." He shrugged with one of his arms still around her. Taking a swig with the other. "Anyway, among other things, she told me that I was just jealous that Ron had a family and I didn't…"

"Oh no, she bloody didn't!" Sitting straight up, she kind of half yelled. Hermione was furious on his behalf, and if they weren't as tipsy for drinking half of 1.5 L bottle of wine, it would have been less funny.

"Oh, she did. It was a bit like the last straw. Anyway, she didn't like that I refused to stick up for Ron, and get his job back, and she packed her bags. And I didn't stop her." He took a long drink after that.

"Oh, wow. I wish you told me." She said sympathetically.

"I think part of me held on to the relationship for that reason though. So one more person didn't leave." The 'me' at the end of that sentence didn't need to be said.

"Oh, Harry. I am your family. I will always be your family. You know it will always be me and you. No matter what. I promise." She reached around him in an awkward hug and kissed his cheek.

"Thanks Hermione, love you too." Harry leaned into her. "I will always be your family, too."

"And Tracey?" She asked, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"Hmm" Harry's lips morphed into a little goofy smile. "She's quiet, but she's got this quick, sarcastic wit. She made me laugh. And it was nice. There was no pretense. What was supposed to be just an lunch interview regarding the details, turned into an afternoon thing. It was easy to be around her. I'd like to see her again; I think she would too." He turned to her as he finished, a lightness in his features that suited him.

"Well good! I'm glad, and I support you." She smiled back, "Always."

He took another drink, ready to change the subject, and asked, "I told you about my life, what happened today? Besides the obvious?"

"It actually wasn't terrible until my patient, Melody, had a complicated seizure." She regaled her day to him. He laughed along with Melisandre's antics and he was pleasantly surprised with Theo Nott. Moving on, he was suitably horrified with her afternoon.

Pulling her close, into a side hug, he handed her the bottle back. "And then this happened."

"And then this happened." She repeated.

A comfortable silence descended on the pair as they kept at the bottle. Lost in their own thoughts and occasionally looking to the man in front of them. The night sky getting darker as the bottle was passed back and forth.

The silence was only broken by Tansy approaching the two. "Does Miss Hermanany and Mister Harry want real food?" There was heavy emphasis on food, and her tone was disapproving.

"Tansy…"

"Absolutely! And sober-up potions." The two started simultaneously. The elf, choosing to ignore the girl in favor for The Great Harry Potter, apparated away.

Harry cut her off before she could even start. "Trust me Hermione, she needs to do this. She needs to feel useful right now. And if she is anything like Malfoy, she has probably been working on those potions this whole time. Just let her."

Harry's statement took the wind out of her sails. She thought back to earlier when Malfoy's heart rate started dropping. She knew there was no pulling the loyal creature away.

"Ok." She responded defeated at making the elf work for them.

In short order, the elf returned, two steaming bowls of a creamy soup and some warm, sliced French bread on a tray. Two vials and the necessary silverware and napkins accompanying the delicious smelling food.

"Thank you, Tansy. This smells wonderful." Hermione said genuinely, taking her portion.

"You are welcome, Miss Hermany."

"Tansy, please, just call me Mia. It is significantly easier."

The elf looked bashful, "Yes Miss Mia, I can be calling you that." The elf smiled before handing Harry his portion. Harry had to place the empty bottle on the floor next to the discarded glasses, before taking it from her.

"Chicken corn chowder, Tansy?" He asked, "Thank you."

"Yes, Mister Harry. Master Draco's favorite."

"Rightfully so, Tansy. It is wonderful!" Hermione couldn't help but gush. It truly was fantastic. It may have been because she was a little drunk, but she was going to have no issues eating all of it.

"Don't forget the potion Miss Mia, Mister Harry. Tomorrow is Thursday." Tansy reminded the inebriated adults. They nodded, still too focused on eating.

By the time the two had finished their entire meals, Tansy had cleaned up the remained of the living room and disappeared again.

"Well, that was great, but I must be getting home. Tansy was right about having to work tomorrow." Harry stated, starting to get up off the expanded recliner. Standing up, and promptly swaying, he reached for the vial Tansy had brought, downing it in one go. The change was immediate.

"Much better." Going to the side table where he had left all of the evidence and notes taken, he duplicated the stack. Leaving one set for Hermione, he shrank the originals to fit in his pocket.

"I enjoyed this, well the last part." He smiled at the witch still curled up in the chair. Walking back over to her, he bent over to kiss her cheek. "I will talk to you tomorrow, ok? Let me know if you need anything."

"I will." She smiled back at the man, her best friend. "Have a good night."

"Night." Harry replied before making his way through the floo, just as Ginny did hours before.

Taking the sober-up potion, she finished it off before banishing all of the dishes and the vials to the kitchen sink to clean themselves.

Now that everyone has left, she moved to sit down on her coffee table, staring at the infinitly better looking wizard than what came through the door. Only pausing briefly to move the open book she landed on, she couldn't help but take stock of the healing that was already visible. The cuts on his chest were closed and the splints had come off the smaller bones that had finished healing. The I.V. and nutrient potion also did much for his completion.

She hated the circumstances under which he was there, but she was so glad they had him and he was at least stable. For Tansy, and for Theo, who she needed to write. In the morning, it could wait till the morning. Rising back to her feet, she wandlessly lowered the lights and leaned over to pull the transfigured down comforter up. Taking one last look before starting towards her bedroom, she took comfort in hearing the steady beat of the heart rate monitor and knowing Tansy would be close by.

oOoOo

And another one. It was a bit of a filler, but I think it is important to see their dynamics and to get some answers. I hope you enjoyed it. Review, follow, or favorite.

Always,

Clara.

To my reviewers:

Thank you to Ditte3, SLYNNR, and Lillsbills. I want to give you all spoilers, but I am not going to, sorry. Please continue to review for me. They make my day 3 I can only hope that this chapter lives up to expectation!


	13. Theo-Part1

This is the first of two chapters I will be posting today. I couldn't break it up and I also couldn't post it all as one, so you, my lovely readers get two chapters.

oOoOo

For the first time in a long time, Hermione got up with her first alarm. It may have been that she slept really well, but deep in her heart, she knew that it was because of the wizard sleeping in her living room.

Making quick work of getting ready, she was ultimately pulled from her room by the tantalizing aroma of eggs and coffee. Thinking it was Harry, she halted her trek to the living room when she saw Tansy, dressed in an emerald green tea cloth, moving around her kitchen.

"Good Morning Miss Mia. Eggs, toast, and coffee for you, Miss." Tansy said, pointing to her island, where a fully stuffed plate sat, steaming.

"Thanks Tansy, but I want to check on Malfoy first and then I will eat." She responded, not sure how to handle the elf's behavior.

The elf only pointed, again to the food. "I already did Miss."

"Ok, thank you, Tansy." Sitting down at the breakfast prepared for her, she turned back to the elf. "How is he this morning?"

"His magic is growing, Miss." The elf replied as she watch Hermione dig into the food. Though she stopped when she processed Tansy's answer.

"It is? That is good." She took a moment to think about Tansy and their first interaction. "Tansy, you know how you said you couldn't feel him completely? Back when you came to me. Is that still the case, or can you feel him now?

"I can feel him, Miss Mia. I can go to him. Before, I could feel him only a little, but couldn't go to him at all." The elf was getting teary eyed.

"Wards." She said to herself, thinking that she needed to talk to Harry about that. Then realizing that she had upset the kind elf, she hastily added. "Please don't get upset, Tansy. I didn't intend for you to get upset."

"No, Miss. I know Miss. Tansy was thinking that she wished she could have found him and saved him. He is the best master." Tansy sniffled, wiping her eyes with her boney hands.

"Tansy, I can promise you right now, that I will do everything in my power to help him." Hermione told Tansy earnestly, turning back to her breakfast when the elf spoke.

"Thank you, Miss. You and Miss Ginny have helped him. His magic is stronger."

"Which reminds me, the nutrient potion. Where you able to start the base? I can get some at work today to hold us over..." She asked, her train of thought already running away with lists of things to accomplish.

"Tansy finished a small batch of nutrient potion. Only enough for today. Elf potions aren't as strong, Miss."

"Interesting. Not an issue. I will brew some this evening. As for this morning, I will give it to him when I check on him. Are you ok to stay with him this morning? I have to go in for at least half the day, but I can finish up at home this afternoon."

"Yes, Miss. Tansy is staying with Master Draco." Tansy informed her like her question was ludicrous.

"No offense intended, Tansy. I merely didn't want to assume." Hermione tried clearing the air.

"I understand, Miss. Miss, I is not leaving till Master Draco leaves. Tansy had moved into the linen closet, Miss Mia." She stated with absolute certainty.

"Alright." The word was drawn out at the elf taking liberties to move in. She shouldn't be surprised, she was talking about the elf that had followed her without informing her. Choosing to let the issue drop, she continued, "Thank you again Tansy, your cooking is wonderful." Hermione grabbed her half full coffee cup and walked to the living room. Walking back over to the coffee table she sat down on last night, she placed her cup down. Hermione chose to sit next to the wizard who had more color this morning, even in low light, than he did before she had gone to bed.

She turned down the blankets and comforter, she cast a warming charm to keep him comfortable. Muttering the x-ray spell, she checked each break and fracture for proper healing. When she was satisfied that another round of Skele-gro wouldn't be required, she continued her assessment of the rest of the injuries that were addressed yesterday. Seeing that the cuts and burns were in stages of healing and no longer fresh, she conjured a bucket of warm water and a wash cloth.

In fear of jarring his healing bones or irritating the open wounds, she knew it was better to clean his skin when there was less chance of causing further injury. Starting at his face, she gently wiped the dried blood and grime from his skin. Without the filter of filth, she was able to see more closely how much his captivity affected him, as well as a slew of other nicks and scars on his skin.

Moving further down to his torso, she paused when she came to his Sectumsempra scars. She instantly thought back to the day she found out what Harry had done.

"I was so angry at him. So bloody angry. He kept saying you were a Death Eater. And did you know I kept defending you, saying you wouldn't do that? You ended up being one, of course, but you never deserved him doing that to you. Never." She let out a sardonic laugh. "I went hoarse that day, yelling at him. We didn't speak for about a week." She told the unconscious man.

But this scar reminded her of the other one. The one that was a visual representation of their separation through their schooling and the war. The Dark Mark. Gently pulling over his left arm so she could see the inside, she could make out the faint scarring along the outline. It was now marked with several round burns. She knew that she was completely wrapped up in stabilizing him yesterday, but now looking at it, where the outline of that horrid tattoo was, it carried the most burn marks of his lower arm.

"I cannot even imagine what you went through." She spoke to the silent room again. Whether she was talking about his time in captivity or his time as a Death Eater, even she didn't fully know.

Continuing down his skeletal frame, she removed what she could without getting him into the bath. He certainly looked cleaner. Feeling better about leaving him, even if it was for work, she eased his jaw open enough to give him his morning nutrient potion.

She lingered only a few moments longer before straightening her robes. "I need to go to work Malfoy, but Tansy will be here. She will get me if you need me. I should be back after lunch… and I'm talking to someone who might not even hear me. Ok Malfoy, I have to go, but I'll be back."

Turning away from him, she informed Tansy she was leaving and flooed to the Department for Experimental Medicine.

First thing she did when she arrived at her office was grab a piece of parchment and quill to pen a letter to Theo.

Theo,

If you are able, I would like to cash in on our lunch. Are you free today? I have some things I would like to discuss with you.

I will be working from home this afternoon, so I am flexible about the time.

Hermione

Calling one of the St Mungo's owls to her window, she tied her missive to its leg before instructing the Great Horned to take it to Theo Nott.

Glad to have written the note to Theo. She could only hope that he understood what she was trying to tell him.

Preparing to see her patients, especially Melody, she picked up her case files and left her office. Desperately optimistic about having a response when she returned.

A couple of hours later, she returned, disappointed that she did not see Melisandre in her office, or any owl for that matter. Sitting down, she prepared to expand upon her notes, in the files, when a hoot made her jump. Doing a quick search of her office, she didn't see an owl. It wasn't until another hoot drew her attention to one of her bookshelves in the corner behind her desk. There, on the top shelf, in a rare gap created by a hefty, even by her standards, tome that she pulled for research, was her favorite black bird.

Snorting, she rose from her chair and went to Melisandre. She was successfully wedged in the gap.

"Are you comfortable? Or just stuck?" She asked humorously. A single hoot was her response. Taking that to mean her first answer, she addressed the owl again.

"Ok, well why don't I take this and you can stay there a little longer." Another hoot.

Returning to her chair, she closed and cleared the open files. Unrolling the missive, she read what Theo had written.

Hermione,

I am available for lunch this afternoon, and would be more than happy to collect you from your office, if you are willing. My afternoon is relatively free as well. Shall I arrive at 1, for a late lunch?

Theo

She checked her office clock for the time, calculating that she had about 2 hours until he got there. Quickly penning her acceptance of the time, she rolled it up as she walked to Melisandre.

"Ok, you quirky owl, it is time to return to Theo." Sliding her fingers gently between the bird and her medical books, she removed Melisandre from her self-created prison, just enough to have access to attach the missive to her ties. Stepping back, she let Melisandre take off out the open window.

Returning to her desk, she sat and got another parchment out, starting a list of things she would need to take home. Making sure to keep it nearby, she once again, opened her files to update her notes.

Finishing her notes, list, and another round to inform her patients she would be still available, just working from home, she returned to her office shortly before Theo was supposed to arrive.

Having already collected all of the tomes and files she was going to need, she started placing the items into her new, much more stylish, bag, that replaced the one she and the boys used on the run.

"There is no way that book should have fit in that bag." The voice made her jump. Partially because she was caught up in her own thoughts, partially because the man was right.

"Theo! How are you?" She spun towards the man, a smile on her face. "And it is only illegal if someone would find out. You wouldn't do that, Theo, would you?" She asked with humor on her face.

"I am well, and no, I would not. Not when I have a feeling we are going somewhere important." Her face lost the humor it had held. "Am I correct?"

"You are indeed correct. Please come in, there is a privacy charm on the door that I can activate." She said to him.

After Theo had cleared the door, she raised her wand, jabbing at the door like she was pressing a button and said, "sparguntur per conloquia." Satisfied that it took, she turned to the man in her office.

"Someone dropped Malfoy off at my place last night." Theo started at this. "But I am warning you now, it isn't pretty but he is stable. Ginny and I worked on him for several hours last night. But I can explain more when we get there."

Throughout her monologue, his face fell with each piece of information. Not sure what to say or think, he only replied with, "Ok. I am ready."

"Ok," She took a deep breath, shoving the last book in her bag, she swung the messenger bag across her chest and dropped the charm. Waiting for him to join her at the door, she lead Theo to the floo room.

Turning back to him, "My address is 86 York Street, Securitas. I will go first but the pass code will let you through." she informed him.

Taking the powder and throwing it down, she pronounced her address clearly, just as she had told Theo, before disappearing.

oOoOo

But we are not done, continue to Chapter 14 for the rest of Theo's visit. Let me know what you think of this one!


	14. Theo-Part2

This is the second of two chapters I will be posting today. If you came straight here, you need to go back one! Enjoy!

oOoOo

Taking the powder and throwing it down, she pronounced her address clearly, just as she had told Theo, before disappearing.

When she stepped out into the living room, she moved quickly out of the way so Theo had enough room. While she moved towards Draco, no, Malfoy! When she moved towards Malfoy, the flare behind her only gave her a millisecond before her guest cursed.

"Salazar fucking Slytherin." It was said in absolute disbelief.

Hermione hazarded a look at the man. He wasn't looking at her muggle house or her furniture, no, he was looking at what was left of his best friend. Gaunt and void of most muscle, the body on the couch was disturbing, even to Hermione, a health care professional who had emergency experience. The heart rate monitor and I.V. bag was hovering above his head, adding to the overall feel of despair. His Slytherin mask wasn't in place, and Hermione had a front row seat to the emotions playing on his face. She walked over and put her hand on his lower arm. It caused Theo to jump, having forgotten that he wasn't alone.

"Who does this? Who DID this?" He asked forcefully. She removed her hand and took a slight step away from the livid man. He picked up on the movement and his anger faded into a more manageable level. "Forgive me Hermione. I know it wasn't you. What can you tell me?"

"I will tell you everything I know, but let me tell Tansy.."

"Tansy's here?" He interrupted her, his voice had a hint of excitement.

"Yes, she is." She replied. Turning to the hallway, she called out, "Tansy?"

The elf popped into the room. "Yes, Miss Mia?" Seeing the man behind Hermione, she squealed. "Master Theo!"

"Hello Tansy!"

"Tansy, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind making us some lunch? I am going to talk to Theo about yesterday, and neither of us have eaten." She asked politely.

"Absolutely, Miss Mia. Turkey is Master Theo's favorite." The elf beamed at her master's friend.

"It still is Tansy, thank you." Theo smiled at her remembering. With that Tansy left for the kitchen.

"Master Theo?" She queried as she summoned her reading chair from the corner, placing it next to the recliner.

"Honorary, purely. I was over his house constantly growing up. Occasionally for weeks at a time, she was the nanny elf assigned to us." His mouth quirked in a brief smile.

Hermione only smiled in response, she didn't have anything to say. Tansy saved her by coming back into the living room with her tray hovering behind her.

Directing it to the coffee table, she uncovered it to show two sandwiches and two sides of chips and fruit.

"Looks great, thank you for your hard work." Hermione thanked the elf as she picked up one of the sandwiches, taking a seat in the recliner.

"Yesterday, I came home from work later than normal, but in time for a crack of apparition and thump outside my door. Initially, I thought someone dropped off a package. However, when I opened the door to retrieve it, he was laying there, haphazardly. I thought he was dead. I called Harry and Ginny to come help. We spent about 3 hours getting him to the point of being able to use Skele-gro." Waiting for Theo to finished chewing, she added. "I can show you the memory through Legillemency or I have copies of the evidence photos. Whichever you prefer." She took a bite of the turkey avocado club sandwich. She was not disappointed, it was fabulous.

"Photos, if you don't mind. I know enough about healing after abuse than I care to remember." His response was something that Hermione wanted to give more thought on without asking. The information was forthcoming and personal.

"Understandable." Setting her meal to the side, she stood going back to the end table where Harry had left copies for her. Walking back to her chair, she passed the stack to Theo.

He put down his lunch in favor of taking the photos and notes. His face morphing from anger to resignation, and back again, as he looked the photos over.

"I know some of these; oil, feet, and fists," holding up a few of the photos as he spoke, "But these? These small round burns?"

"Cigarettes. They are the only thing Harry and I could think of. Muggles smoke them. Smaller than a pencil, they contain addictive properties." Realization dawned on her face. "Theo, are these not in the magical world? I know about them because of the muggle world, but I haven't paid attention to people using them in the magical."

"I think I know what you are talking about. I have seen them, but I couldn't tell you where to get them. Not in an apothecary." He looked unsure, as if trying to figure it out himself.

"I need to tell Harry!" Getting up, she went to her floo, throwing the powder in to call Harry's office.

"Harry! Do you have a moment?... Ok, that's fine… Oh, ok. Great… Yes, I will see you then. Bye!" The one sided conversation was awkward to listen in on. Soon enough Hermione was returning to her chair, processing this new information.

"May I ask what had you needing to inform Potter?" Theo asked politely, not looking to step over any boundaries.

"Oh! My apologies, Theo. In cases like this, you try to develop a profile of the perpetrator. Like the cigarettes. If they can only be purchased in the muggle world, the person has to either be magical and familiar with it, or muggle. And the cello tape!" She spoke loudly as she thought about the evidence the collected.

The floo flared behind her and out stepped Harry.

"Hey Hermione, Theo. What is it you wanted to speak about?" He asked the two sitting individuals. Tansy arrived at this and handed Harry his own sandwich, sans the chips and fruit.

"Theo just brought up a good point. The cigarette burns, Harry. And the cello tape!" She told the raven haired man enthusiastically. "They have to be familiar with the muggle world or are a muggle. Oh! Tansy told me over breakfast that she can feel him and go to him now that Malfoy is here. Before, when she initially came to me, she couldn't. Wards Harry!"

"So you are thinking muggleborn or half-blood?" He asked back, making sure he understood what she was trying to convey.

"Or pureblood, familiar with the muggle world. But that is more unlikely than plausible." She responded in thought.

"If you don't mind me weighing in, there are very few wards that would allow you to feel magical signature behind them but not find them. Even through a bond. I can do some research at work and see if I can create a comprehensive list." Theo suggested, and at Harry's slightly confused look Hermione cut in.

"Theo is a curse breaker for… " trailing off when she realized she didn't know where he actually worked.

"Gringotts." Theo supplied. "I am a curse breaker for Gringotts."

"And Melisandre goes with you?" Hermione couldn't help but ask, curiosity shining through. Each time she had reached out to him, Melisandre was the owl that returned, not a Gringotts' owl.

"Actually, yes. I think she thinks she has to work as well. Though I doubt you are surprised." He said with a hint of humor. Hermione chuckled and shook her head.

"Melisandre?" Harry asked.

"My owl. She been with me since 5th year and she is quirky. That is putting it mildly." Theo smiled a large, toothy grin at that. "Anyway, I can do that, but it will probably take a week or so. Would that be ok?"

"Yes." Both Harry and Hermione responded.

"If Tansy is willing, we might be able to experiment to see if there is a different feel to them. It might provide insight." Hermione suggested looking at the two men.

Tansy must have come into the room invisible because the empty food plates and trays disappeared. Looking at the time, Hermione was surprised to see it was going on half two.

"Oh! I need to get started on Malfoy's potion and keep working." She stated, feeling terrible she had lost track of time.

"I need to head back, but I will put your thoughts in the file. Thanks Hermione, Theo." Turning to face the kitchen, he yelled louder than necessary, "Thanks for lunch Tansy!" Waving goodbye, Harry left her house.

"I can help with the potion. Two sets of hands are better than one. I'm not Draco good, but I'm no slouch. And you can trust me as I have a vested interest in it being correct." Theo told her.

"Don't oversell yourself. I am fine with that. We can start now, but I may need to leave if I am required back at work." Getting up, she straighten her clothes as he followed her lead.

Guiding him into the hallway, she entered the first door on her left. What was supposed to be a bedroom, has a long wooden table down the middle with three potions stations. Where the closet was supposed to be, an open design pantry held all of the ingredients she had on hand. Along the wall to the right, shelves created long lines, the length of the space, with all of her equipment, from cauldrons to vials. The wall directly across from the door held bookshelves that looked to be sorted in reverse by levels of difficulty.

"This is also not completely legal, do be sure not to mention it." Teasing him, she walked to the middle station which Tansy had used the night before.

Looking up, she broke in to Theo's perusal of the space by saying, "The recipe we will be using is going to be in Moste Potent Potions, second shelf from the top, right of the window. Ingredients are on the shelves to your left. We should have everything."

While she collected the equipment and started the fire, Theo found Hermione's bookmark page and gathered the needed ingredients.

"This is an extreme formula, how did you find it?" He asked her. The look he received was one of guilt.

"Ah, my fatal flaw." A blush rose high on her cheeks. "I will occasionally get so wrapped up in researching, I forget to eat. I modified the potion to be a lower strength. Full strength is a bit brutal. He will need a stomach soother with it."

"No issues. That is quicker than this one." Theo said reading the instructions. Verifying he had everything, he laid out the bottles in order of brewing. "Knives?"

"Leather roll to the right of the cauldron." She supplied, bringing a granite mortar and pestle with her.

The two worked in relative silence preparing the ingredients, the only noises where those coming from the cauldron. When they were at a period of prolonged simmering, they repeated their steps for a stomach soother. Before they knew it, they were letting the potions cool for bottling.

Tansy cleared her throat in obvious effort not to startle the two.

"Would Miss and Master be ready for dinner?" She asked, looking between them.

Looking at his watch, Theo realized the time. "I'm sorry Tansy, but I must be going. Porter is waiting at home. I had asked him to make pot roast for this evening."

"Yes, Master Theo" the elf bobbed her head. "Miss Mia?"

"I could really go for some chicken alfredo if you are able." She suggested. Having an elf to prepare meals was something she found she enjoyed. Harry wasn't joking when he said he did the cooking. She tended to order take out.

"Yes, Miss Mia." With that, the elf disappeared.

"Look at you, Miss Elf Rights."

"Oh stop! Harry said it will make her feel useful." She laughed at Theo's teasing. "Thank you for your help today. I truly appreciate it."

"It was no problem at all, Hermione." Theo smiled at her. "Would you mind if I came back, maybe next week?"

"Sure, though I am thinking he will be in a healing sleep for at least a week. If you don't mind that he may not be awake, I don't mind the company."

Walking back to the living room, he continued to speak. "Ok, I'm ok with that. You wanted to discuss one of your patient's symptoms regardless. We can plan for that." He smiled at her. "I had a good time, you are not bad to brew with."

"Thanks, you aren't either." She responded, smiling as well. Stopping their walk in front of the floo, both turned to watch the man on the transfigured bed.

"He is alive, and that is what matters. We will figure out who did this to him. Which reminds me, the list of wards."

Realizing he had almost forgotten, he thanked her for reminding him. "I'll see you next week." He told her, picking up a portion of powder. Throwing it in, he stepped through the flames as she echoed his sentiment.

oOoOo

I had a hard time writing this and having it feel like it fit properly. Please review to tell me what you think. Did I leave something out?

Thank you for each and every one of you. Please follow or favorite to get a notification that the next chapter has been posted.

To my lovely reviewers - I think I might love you guys. I say it every time and I will continue to say it, you are amazing! Thank you for brightening my day.

Special shout out to RavenclawDeanna! Welcome to the party! I'm glad you like the story (YAY!!) and thank you for your review!


	15. Patience

By the following Tuesday, Hermione had developed a tentative schedule. She'd get up in the morning for which ever feast Tansy had prepared for her. Breakfast was followed by checking Malfoy, recording his vitals and incorporating the need to rotate the wizard to aid in proper healing. She would wash his face and hair, being careful around the wounds on his scalp, and send a gentle scourgify to the places she couldn't see. Propping him up and helping him swallow his potions came next. All of this was completed as she continuously talked to him. She had even nicked an empty patient file from work, the previous Friday, to keep her notes and observations in order. Each day the file became thicker.

On the days she had to go to work, she would arrive and work as diligently as possible. Being efficient for her was not a stretch, or even daunting, but it allowed for her to return home for the lunch hour without feeling guilty.

Lunch was much of the same. Making sure his vitals were where they needed to be, she would administer his "lunch" of the nutrient potion and stomach soother. Eating whatever Tansy had prepared for her, she would finish her own food before heading back to work for the remainder of the day. There were very little differences between dinner and lunch. The biggest change to her pre-Malfoy routine was that, while she normally sat in her corner chair to read her current book before bed, she found herself taking the book and cup of tea to the recliner instead.

Though today, she broke both her pre-Malfoy and post-Malfoy molds, in more ways than one. Knowing the wizard was desperately in need of a bath, as he had been there almost a week, she called Tansy.

"Tansy, could you help me get Malfoy into the bath? I think he should be able to handle it now, and I know he probably hasn't had one in a while." Hermione asked the elf.

"Absolutely, Miss Mia."

"Great, if you don't mind levitating him in, I will go expand the tub." Hermione directed. Getting up, she disconnected the I.V. The elf nodded to Hermione, pulling the covers off the wizard.

Hermione made quick work of the bathtub, making it longer and wider. She aimed at filling it to a shallow level that would cover everything, but not deep enough that he would be in danger of drowning. A water resistant pillow kept his head above the surface. She added some of her oatmeal wash and made the water opaque. She didn't think Malfoy was shy, but she figured it would be easier to admit, if asked, that she wasn't peaking while he had no say.

Stepping aside, she watched as Tansy levitated Malfoy into the bath with only a towel across his hips. Once the elf made room for Hermione, Hermione used a nifty spell she developed for unresponsive patients in her ward, the bubble loofa charm. What looked like a puff of rotating cotton, was actually thousands of tiny bubbles that rotated randomly, at a fast speed, to gently cleanse the body. Working primarily on intention magic, she used her wand to direct it where she wanted it to go on a 2D plane, and the bubble loofa would translate into 3D, getting everywhere possible in the location it was directed. Very handy, and one that the new residents were taught.

She knew that while she had done her best to keep him clean while some of his wounds healed, nothing could compare with an actual bath. It was amazing to see how much more dirt the spell had removed. She ended up filtering the water after the first full pass to make sure there was nothing remaining. This cemented her theory that the scourgify spell had its limitations in effectiveness. When the loofa had removed everything it could, she set to washing his hair by hand. Only having her curly hair shampoo in the house, she called Tansy to rectify the situation.

"Sure, Miss. Tansy will return with Master Draco's shampoo."

"And some pajamas, please!" She yelled as the elf disapperated to where ever she was going. Thinking that worst case she could use a pair Harry left behind, she didn't worry.

Within a few heartbeats, Tansy was passing over a small, black container, and placing the change of clothes on the counter. Reading the label, she saw that it was a Tea Tree formula. Knowing she wasn't going to need much on his thin hair, she used a coin-sized amount, lathering it into his hair. The mint smell permeating the secondary bathroom. Placing the bottle next to hers, she rinsed the silky hair. Pausing to look at the man, she was thrilled to see that the regime she had him on was in fact making a difference.

His skin had retained a healthier appearance. His face didn't look as sallow, his cheeks developing a pink tint to them. He was starting to look more alive than the relative skeleton that showed up on her doorstep. Satisfied with what she had done, she drained the water and started drying the wizard with her wand. She laughed at seeing that his hair had a slight wave to it. Using her wand to dry the rest of him, starting at his torso, she made quick work of it, not wanting him to catch a chill. Once the towel, that had went in with him, was completely visible, she sent a large blast of warm air to completely dry it. She avoided thinking about the bulge she could make out, scolding herself for allowing her mind to wander like that.

Wanting to give him some modicum of privacy, she turned her head and used the necessary spells to get him into the pajamas Tansy brought. 'Green and silver, predictable.' She laughed to herself.

Using her wand, she levitated her former classmate back to the living room where she saw Tansy changing out the sheets.

"Thank you very much, Tansy. That is very helpful." She praised the elf's efficient thinking. As she directed the wizard back into his makeshift bed, Tansy followed behind, tucking her wizard back in.

Turning to Tansy, she asked, "Tansy, I know this is an odd request, but I am feeling like sausage pizza from the place around the corner. I would really like it if you joined me. Are you ok with that?"

"Miss doesn't like Tansy's cooking?" The elf was horrified, big tears welling up in her eyes.

Taking a large sigh, she reassured her pseudo-roommate. "Tansy, I love your cooking, I do. I appreciate every thing you make. I am really just craving something very specific. I would like you to try it. That is all."

"So Tansy can learn to make it?" Tansy asked, the tears at bay for the moment.

"Uh, sure, if you would like to make it in the future." Hermione was slightly perplexed at the way Tansy came to that conclusion. She wasn't about to argue, she really did want that pizza.

"Ok, Miss. Tansy will learn to make Miss's sausage pee-sah."

"P-I-Z-Z-A, pizza." Hermione wanted to correct the elf from the onset and not end up with a situation like her name.

"Pizza." Tansy dutifully responded.

"Yes, great. I will order it for dinner. Let me call and then I have an idea that I would like your input on. " Tansy looked dumfounded as Hermione made her way to the telephone in the corner of the room to place the order. Having it delivered was just what Hermione needed.

The only hiccup was the doorbell ringing, scaring the wits out of Tansy. Curbing her urge to ask Tansy why she behaved the way she did, she instead asked for plates.

Sitting on the floor at the coffee table, she dug in serving herself and Tansy. Tansy, taking the task of learning how to make pizza seriously, asked more questions about pizza then even Hermione could fathom. But in the end, both had enjoyed it, and Tansy had been ok eating with her.

Once Tansy had taken the plates to the kitchen to clean, Hermione pulled out one of her favorite light novels. 'Getting Rid of Bradley' by Jennifer Crusie. Knowing that she could recite the entire novel, no matter where she started, she opted for starting at the beginning.

""I've never known anyone who was stood up for her own divorce before," Tina Savage told her sister. "What's it feel like?"

"Not good." Lucy Savage Porter tried to smooth her flowered skirt with a damp hand…."*

Changing how she normally read, Hermione read out loud, the words bringing an instant smile to her face. As odd as it had felt to be reading aloud, she continued, creating voices for each of the characters and placing as much inflection into her words as she thought the characters would be exhibiting. As the night continued, the day began to wear on her and she knew it was time to go to bed.

Getting to a decent stopping point, she placed the book on the side table. Moving to sit on the coffee table to Malfoy's right, she reached out tentatively, like he would recoil, picking up his right hand in both of hers. Gently squeezing it, she couldn't help but voice her soft plea.

"Don't give up Malfoy. We will find who did this to you. Just don't give up."

This was the beginning of her new routine.

oOoOo

On Wednesday, Harry dropped by to discuss her thoughts regarding the perpetrator. As well as telling her news of his own.

"I asked Tracey out for dinner. We went to the Mexican place you and I like so much. Come to find out Mexican is her favorite." He stared off wistfully.

"That's great, Harry! Las Palmas is the best."

"That's not all. She's a half blood, yeah? And she has a cousin that works for the Metropolitan Police Service. She suggested talking to him about finger printing." He said proudly.

"That's a great idea! That way you can narrow down your search a bit."

"Exactly!" His enthusiasm curbing, just slightly, as he looked at that man on her couch. "Anyway, Malfoy looks better."

"Yes, he does. I'm really glad. His heart rate is a bit more normal and he doesn't look so corpse-like." Hermione looked over to the subject of conversation.

When Harry left, she climbed into her arm chair, eager to continue her routine and tell Draco about what happened during her day, what she and Harry had talked about, before continuing to read the story to him. She was just getting to one of her favorite parts, when Lucy hit the guy with the baseball bat.

It may have been odd, talking to someone who didn't respond, but it was therapeutic. 'Additionally,' she thought to herself, 'studies have shown that people can still register voices in their sleep. So this isn't crazy.'

On Friday, Theo came by after work, staying for dinner. He, too, was pleased to see how well Draco had been doing. Unfortunately, Theo had not had the time to research the wards, but he did have the chance to research for her patient, and that brought good news.

"One of the lower ranking Death Eaters had a pattern of using something along the lines you spoke about. His name was Hayes, Cloutis Hayes. It was mostly centered around using cutlery at meals to injure the victim. Only once they managed, the compulsion to maim themselves would leave. It was set to reoccur 3-4 times a week. Does that sound right?"

"Yes! That's exactly right! He needs to be hand fed! How did you come across this? Gringotts had it?" She asked rapidly, enthusiastic that he had gotten further than she did.

"My father kept journals of the "funnier" curses they would use on people." Theo actually used air quotes, no humor in his features. "He tended to write how and what they did. It comes in handy, occasionally. Even at Gringotts."

Faced with the evidence that Theo, too, was groomed as a Death Eater, she found she had little to say. She settled for apologizing. "I'm sorry. That must have been hard."

"Not so much hard, not when you only know one way of life. Unfortunate, is a good way to describe growing up that way. Humiliating is another way. Being lumped with a man that thought testing out curses on his small son was acceptable. But hard, hard didn't come till after. Everyone thinking you had the brand as well. Thinking you are tainted, scum. Thinking you are just like your old man. That is what is hard. Almost 2 years and a relatively successful career, not a toe out of line, and I still get spit on." He looked at Hermione pointedly. "I was never branded. I was supposed to be. But lucky for me, you and your two sidekicks intervened before that could happen."

If Hermione didn't know what to say before, she was positively speechless now. There was so much information in that one moment, that one little speech, there was only one thing she could think to do. And that was give him a hug. An awkward hug, made worse by the man shying away from physical touch.

"Sorry." She said again, pulling back, embarrassed.

"No issues. I think I must be going, though. I have the incantation, I will do my best to figure out the reverse. If nothing changes, next week?" He had gotten up off the floor where they had eaten dinner, making his way to the floo. It was unlike him to leave so abruptly.

"Yes, that's fine." She kept it simple, not wanting to make the situation worse. He nodded his head and disappeared.

Picking up her book, she turned to Draco, "Botched that one, didn't I Draco?" She sighed. He didn't even need to respond to that question, she knew her answer. That night, she read a little longer and talked a little more.

oOoOo

The book I quoted is real and fantastic. Those words belong solely to Jennifer Crusie and her publishers. I do not own any of it and I hope I don't get in trouble. Free publicity? (Shrugs shoulders) *

Also, this ended up being a hard chapter to write. I rewrote and rewrote and eventually said oh well, I shouldn't try cutting myself down over one chapter. I tried condensing the time between when he is found and he wakes up to one chapter, but it just didn't work. (Sorry SLYNNR, next one, I promise.) There is so much that in real life would happen in that time span that it just wasn't feasible.

As always, I really enjoy reading your reviews. Please continue. 3

To address the review I received from Tama, thank you for your review. As a long standing Dramione community member, I do understand what you are talking about, and on a broad scale, agree that nicknames for Hermione should be done tastefully. While I will NEVER have another human character call her "Mia", it was a means of ending the inconsistent names Tansy called her. I feel that this situation is more acceptable, as elves generally have poor pronunciation and grammatical structure to their words. I had already written this chapter prior to receiving your review and had already aimed at minimizing the amount of times the shortened name was used. I will continue this, but will not cut it completely. I do hope you understand. Again, thank you for taking the time to write a review. I appreciated it.


	16. More Patience

Guys. I'm sitting here, writing this at 3:15 in the morning, waiting on one of my work documents to save. Save. Ugh. What day is it? Day 324 of quarantine? -Gag Noise-

I can do this?

Sincerely, sleep-deprived me. Third shift is for the birds.

I wanted you guys to have a new chapter soon after the last. Enjoy! This chapter is for my reviewers. Without you guys, I don't know if I would have made it this far!

oOoOo

Each day, Hermione grows more worried, wondering if there was something wrong. Wondering if she had done something incorrectly, or maybe he just needed this much healing sleep. It is as if he is on the precipice of the veil, and if it weren't for her checking the heart rate monitor several times a day, she would think she was harboring an embalmed corpse in her living room.

As the first week turns into the second, it brings with it relatively good news.

It was the second Saturday since Draco was dropped on her porch and she was busying herself by making a cup of her mother's favorite tea. Feeling particularly nostalgic and sentimental, she only pulled out this tea when she desperately needed to. Hearing her floo go off, she rounded the doorway from the kitchen to living room to find Harry standing there, dusting off his clothes. She wasn't worried, as it could have only been a few people, all of which were welcome and knew of Malfoy being her houseguest.

"Hey Harry! How are you? Tea?" She hugged the man, giving him a tight squeeze and a peck on the cheek.

"Yes, please! That sounds wonderful." He responded jovially, as he followed her back in to the kitchen.

"What brings you by today?" She queried, though not out of inconvenience, quite the opposite. Knowing that the man would only have one cup, she handed him a cup of her mother's blend rather than making an entire new pot.

"I was able to meet up with Tracey's cousin, Kevin, about fingerprinting. Really fascinating stuff there. Aurors definitely have it easier, but he said he would run them for me. There were 3 full prints, which I guess is good. I am not too hopeful, just because there is a strong possibility they aren't in the system. But I have some ideas of how we can implement a better system than we have. And he took me on a tour of Scotland Yard! It's brilliant!"

"That is wonderful, Harry!" She said, smiling. "Did he say how long it could take?"

"Yeah, since it is not one of their cases, it will be pushed to the back. But he is thinking anywhere from a week to two." Harry stated, not sounding at all bothered by the timeline.

"It would be cool if you could figure out a system similar to that for the magical world." Hermione started, her mind already moving towards a solution. "It would have to be potion and transfiguration proof. I guess if you wanted to bad enough, you could modify your finger prints. I know there are some witches and wizards that can feel magical signatures, but that depends on having it on file, and obviously, having someone with that ability around. Then there is retina, but isn't that fully changed when in polyjuice…"

"Hermione!" Harry's shout brought her up short.

"What?!" She sounded exasperated.

"I know you are going all swot on me, and I love you for it, but we can talk about that another time. I came over because Theo contacted me about the wards. Didn't he contact you?" He asked when her face morphed into a look of curiosity.

"No, he didn't. Things got a tad awkward the last time he was here."

"Awkward? What? Were you singing those awful renditions of those American songs you like?" Harry asked the red-faced girl, laughing.

"No, I tried to hug him?" Shrugging her shoulders, her posture conveyed to Harry, she wasn't fully sure of what happened. "He told me something awful, and I thought he could use a hug and when I did, he got all stiff. It was the worst. And then he left. I told you, awkward."

"Oof. Well, maybe, he just wanted to make sure my schedule was free before asking you? I am sure it wasn't that bad." The look she sent him would have had lesser men turning the other way.

"Anyway, I wanted to know if you and Tansy were both free, maybe we could knock it out?" He asked, trying to keep on topic.

"I am fine with that, I just need to clear it with her." Taking her focus off of Harry, she called out for the elf. After Tansy agreed, Harry jumped in the floo, claiming he would be right back. Not surprised the wizard wasn't prepared, she turned back to her tea, with a flick of her wrist, she reheated the water.

It was only a few minutes when the floo flared, not once, but twice. Curious, she returned to see both Theo and Harry standing at her fireplace.

"Well, that was fast!" Choosing to act as if nothing was wrong, she turned to Theo, "It's great to see you again Theo! How have you been?"

The wizard saw right through her not-entirely-sincere pleasantries. "I am sorry I wasn't in touch this week. I had some things that I needed to figure out."

Having a feeling that the conversation was best ended, she simply responded, "I can understand, sometimes you need a bit of isolation to really allow for solutions to come forth."

She could have been imagining it, but it looked as if he was relieved at her words.

"I was able to find eleven, different, documented wards that allow for a magical signature to be felt but the location the be untraceable." He looked down, pulling parchments out of him pocket. Passing one to each of them, it held a simple list of the eleven on the left edge, with extensive details about each one, in a small, tidy writing, taking up the remainder of the width.

"What is interesting about these, is that if you look at wards across the world, these would be classified as equivalent. However, if you break each one down, you find differences. It may be in the way they make the person feel, or the redirection spells laced in. Or in Tansy's case, the strength of the ward. These are considered 'Lazy Man's Wards' and do not rely on intention for strength. Now most of my sources did not include reaction to elf magic, that is where we will be at a minor disadvantage."

"Well, let's try some wards out." Hermione said with interest flashing in her eyes. "Tansy, we are going to need you!"

When the elf popped next to the three adults, she watched on as Theo chose the first to cast. Latin, Irish, French, Polish, and Swedish, none of them were quite right. It wasn't until Theo cast the Finnish variation, that Tansy gave a squeak of recognition.

"This one. This is how Master's magic felt!" The elf bounced from one foot to the other in excitement.

"Finnish?" Harry asked to verify. When Theo confirmed it, Harry perked up. "Well, I am going to go record this in his file. Hermione, Theo, good night!" And the devil had the audacity to wink at her as he jumped in the floo. Granted, she was grateful.

Turning to Theo, who was reading his notes, she asked, "Theo? Are we ok? I am sorry if I overstepped. I am just so.." She didn't get to finish her rambling apology before he cut her off.

"You are fine, my apologies for leaving in a rush." He stated earnestly. "Uh, my father was not a nice man. And if he did give me any affection, it was usually a trap. I don't react well." At her horrified face, he stopped.

"Theo…" His name came out as a strangled whisper.

"I am ok. The bastard's dead, he can't hurt me anymore, so I am ok." Mostly reassuring her, partially reassuring himself, he was firm in his tone. Turning to Tansy, he asked, "So Miss Tansy, what's for dinner?"

Turning back to Hermione, he gave her a small smile. "As long as that is ok with you?"

"Sure, no objections." Hermione returned with a smile of her own.

The elf blushed as she joyfully replied, "Oh Good Master Theo, Tansy is making Master's favorites then."

oOoOo

Hermione had read through three of her favorite books, talked to Draco about her job, her obliviated parents, and her failed relationship with Ron. She vented about animal and creature rights, and told him about some of her favorite places. There was about 3 years' worth of mental dumping that happened over the course of 2 and a half weeks.

It was the 17th day since he arrived, and she was in a heated discussion about the pros and cons about informing muggle raised children at the inception of their magic rather than waiting till they were eleven. She was thoroughly discussing how her childhood would have been filled with less "What is wrong with you?" and more, "I am not a freak and I have a gift." It was that first utterance of "freak" that she saw a finger move.

Jumping into action to check his vitals, everything checked out well. And try as she may, nothing more happened. Even after repeating her passionate points.

oOoOo

Two days later, she was surrounded by books and parchment. She had received Theo's notes, copies of his father's journal, and attempts at a few counter spells. The books alone outnumbered the sheets of parchment. Anything from charms to potions to astronomy. The knot that this curse took her on reminded her of the balls of Christmas lights in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Laughing a bit to herself as she explained the scene to Draco, she stopped everything when she watched his hand move.

But unfortunately, nothing more happened. Cursing to herself, she settled back in on the floor and kept researching possible solutions.

oOoOo

It was Saturday, and Hermione was taking full advantage of the rainy weather to lounge about the house, cleaning and reading. As Harry had called her out last week, she had the music turned up and she was belting her heart out. Avril Lavigne's Complicated was coming through the speakers as she was dancing and dusting. Getting into the zone, she was sweeping her hands and hips about, in tempo with the beat. The messy bun on top of her head mirroring her moves after a second's delay.

It was with a particularly embarrassing, off pitch execution of the chorus that she spun with flourish, and almost pitched herself over. Catching herself on the chair, she jumped right into a solo mosh jump, using the duster as a microphone. And at 23 days, 22 hours, and 47 minutes since her visitor had come to her, pale grey eyes connect with her amber ones, and she crashed to the floor, tripping over her feet, unable to catch herself in shock.

oOoOo

Meep! Sorry for the cliffie, but we all know that it just wouldn't have been the same to get one paragraph now, when you could get an entire chapter!

First off, LillsBills, sorry! But you are getting 2 chapters close to each other! And the next one will be worth it. Thank you for being the first to review. I see it and I appreciate it.

SLYNNR, I hope this is better for you! Are you doing ok? Holding up? Is the house the size of a shoebox yet? Haven't murdered anyone over here so I'm counting this as a win.

RavenclawDeanna - I always do my best to give shout outs to my reviewers. It might not be every time, but I think it is important that you know I read them and pay attention to what you are saying! I hope you are still enjoying this, and please keep reviewing! PS. Go Ravenclaw!

Ditte3! Thank you for your review! If it's ever a bad chapter please let me know too.

Buddybuddy96, when this is all over, I will gift you Melisandre, just treat her well. She'll be your quirky owl. But I reserve the right to have her in any other stories I may write. Sound like a plan?


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